PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Official Engagements

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Prime Minister what his official engagements are in March 2010.

Gordon Brown: My official spokesman announces my forthcoming official engagements each day.
	On 6 March, I visited Helmand where I was briefed by our military and civilian leaders, and by Afghan Commanders, on the latest developments on the ground, in particular on Operation Moshtarak, and on the challenges faced by our forces throughout Helmand, especially in Sangin.
	I was updated on ISAF plans to reorganise responsibilities and command and control in Southern Afghanistan, as the operational situation evolves after Operation Moshtarak and the deployment of additional US forces. Key to this will be building on the increasingly successful partnering of the Afghan security forces, and achieving the right ratios of security forces (international and Afghan) to the civilian population to enable General McChrystal's counter-insurgency approach. And although final decisions have yet to be taken it is likely UK forces will increasingly concentrate in central Helmand.
	I was updated on ongoing stabilisation efforts: provision of jobs on projects, efforts to strengthen the local economy, and helping farmers cultivate a range of legal crops rather than poppy. 1,000 Afghan civil order police are now being deployed into the areas cleared in Operation Moshtarak. Over time they will be replaced by 1,000 regular Afghan police. To support this the UK are deploying an additional eight police mentoring teams, additional police advisers for the NATO training mission and the EU police mission, and additional support for the police training centre, a total of over 150 extra personnel.
	I was updated on progress with recruiting in the Afghan army, which has increased sevenfold since the end of 2009, with 500 more Afghan army in Helmand since December. Embedded partnering between British forces and the Afghan army is already generating positive results: for example, UK battlegroups report a 30 per cent. improvement in intelligence collection, including on the location of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), after the introduction of joint patrolling with Afghan forces.
	I was updated on progress in equipment including faster delivery of Vallon IED detectors towards our target of deploying over 6,500 by July, together with additional sets of ground penetrating radar. Specialised Talisman route-clearance vehicles and equipment will deploy in the next two months. The Ministry of Defence is also committing a further £18 million over the next two years to strengthen pre-deployment training on counter-IED techniques, in addition to the significant investment announced in December.
	I was updated on the increased number of hours our Chinook and Apache helicopters can fly each month; the successful introduction of Merlin helicopters; the deployment of Czech helicopters made possible by the British helicopter fund initiative; and the recent increases of Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicles and options for accelerating the planned increase of Predator/Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles.
	Finally, I visited engineers responsible for sustaining the fleet of protected mobility vehicles including Mastiff and Ridgeback vehicles-offering world-leading protection against IED strikes. Over 100 more of those vehicles have been deployed since last summer. I also inspected the newly introduced Husky utility vehicle, 100 of which are in transit to Afghanistan. I was able to update our forces on the Ministry of Defence's plans for a new light protected patrol vehicle, with Treasury approval of the first 200 vehicles as an urgent operational requirement. The Ministry of Defence judge that this meets the requirement in Afghanistan and will make announcements on further tranches in due course, as is standard practice with major equipment procurements.
	I look forward in the coming weeks to discussing the position in Afghanistan with the King of Jordan and Prime Minister Erdogan when they visit London. I also plan to attend the European Council meeting in Brussels on 25 to 26 March.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental ICT

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information technology projects initiated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies were cancelled prior to completion in the last 12 months; and what the cost of each such project was to the public purse.

Paul Goggins: During the last 12 months no information technology projects initiated by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) or its agencies have been cancelled prior to completion.

Departmental Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was paid in reimbursable expenses to special advisers in his Department in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The following table shows how much the Northern Ireland Office, including its arms length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding its agencies and NDPBs paid in reimbursable expenses to special advisers in each of the last five years:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 11,579.84 
			 2005-06 9,182.01 
			 2006-07 1,837.74 
			 2007-08 1,068.97 
			 2008-09 1,457.49

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

14 Tothill Street

Stewart Jackson: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 3 February 2010,  Official Report, column 329W, on 14 Tothill Street, how much has been spent in total to date, including the House of Commons contribution and the House of Lords contribution to the Commission on  (a) rent,  (b) refurbishment,  (c) business rates and  (d) utilities in respect of the unoccupied premises at 14 Tothill Street.

Nick Harvey: The expenditure to the end January 2010 on the unoccupied premises has been:
	
		
			  £000 
			  Account  Commons  Lords  Total 
			 Rent 4,592 2,256 6,848 
			 Refurbishment 1,598 2,293 3,891 
		
	
	These figures exclude costs incurred by the House of Lords since taking up occupancy on 1 September 2009. Business rates and utility costs, of £340,000 and £72,000 respectively, have also been incurred since the building became partially occupied. These are shared between the Commons (60 per cent.) and Lords (40 per cent.).

Illegal Immigrants

Robert Syms: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip Northwood of 3 February 2010,  Official Report, column 411W, on illegal immigrants, how many House of Commons staff have been appointed and later discovered to be illegal immigrants since 2005.

Nick Harvey: Since 2005, one employee of the House of Commons has been found to be not eligible to work in the UK. This was due to a change in circumstances that occurred after the employment began.

Members: Allowances

Frank Field: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2010,  Official Report, column 38W, on Members: allowances, how much has been spent under each budgetary heading referred to in the answer.  [Official Report, 11 March 2010, Vol. 507, c. 11-12MC.]

Nick Harvey: The costs to date, inclusive of VAT, are as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			  Sir Thomas Legg's review  
			 Work commissioned 870,784 
			 Staff costs 306,534 
			 Office supplies 5,889 
			 Total 1,183,207 
			   
			 Sir  Paul Kennedy's work  
			 Work commissioned 18,327 
			 Travel 643 
			 Office Supplies 180 
			 Total 19,150

Older Workers

David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what guidance the House authorities have issued on arrangements to enable staff of the House, excluding its Officers, who wish to continue to work beyond the age of 65 years to do so; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The House of Commons service currently has a "no retirement age" policy for most of its staff. This will be extended to include all staff from 1 April 2010 when the retirement age of 65 for the senior commons structure is removed.

Older Workers

David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many House of Commons staff, excluding Officers of the House, there are over the age of 65 years; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: 64 members of staff, excluding Officers of the House (staff in pay band A and above), are over the age of 65.

Parliament: Internet

David Amess: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission with reference to the answer of 20 July 2009,  Official Report, columns 747-8W, on standing committees: internet, what progress the Commission has made on placing on Parliament's website the transcripts of Standing Committee debates held prior to 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: Standing Committee debates held prior to 1997 have been digitised (421 volumes covering the period 1919 to 2004-05) and have now gone through the necessary quality assurance procedures. This data, along with many other related stand-alone sites will be brought into the main site over the next few months as part of the implementation of a new, improved content management system.

Trade Unions

Robert Syms: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many days staff of the House of Commons Service spent on trade union activity in the latest year for which figures are available; and what recent estimate has been made of the annual cost to the public purse of such activity.

Nick Harvey: A record of the number of days that staff of the House of Commons Service spent on trade union activity is not maintained centrally.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Departmental Internet

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for which Google Adword online advertising keywords his Department and its agencies have paid in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Dan Norris: The Department has spent £156,000 on Google Adwords in the last 12 months. A list of the keywords used has been placed in the House Library. We are unable to disclose the individual cost against specific keywords as this information is commercial in confidence.
	Detailed spend on advertising by DEFRA agencies is not held centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Land: Forestry

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has made a recent estimate of the amount of land available for afforestation.

Huw Irranca-Davies: We have not made any recent estimates of the amount of land available for afforestation. The Forestry Commission is currently working with DEFRA and Natural England to develop a high-level spatial framework to guide where woodland creation could best deliver a range of benefits. This work is likely to be completed over the coming year.

Land: Set-aside Schemes

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of former set-aside land  (a) has gone back into agricultural production since the abolition of the set-aside scheme in 2008 and  (b) remains as fallow land.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The June Agricultural Survey only records aggregate areas and does not collect information on individual fields. Hence, it is not possible to say how much of the set-aside land recorded in 2007 was located on fields that remained fallow in subsequent years. Nor is it possible to say how much of the former set-aside land is now cropped. However, in 2009 there were 254,000 hectares of uncropped land in the UK, which is equivalent to 58 per cent. of the 2007 set-aside area.

Quarries: Nottinghamshire

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which extraction quarries are currently licensed in Nottinghamshire; and which of them have received aggregate levy sustainability fund Objective 5 money for community projects.

Huw Irranca-Davies: There are currently 31 aggregates extraction sites in Nottinghamshire, of which 19 are active (Abbey Quarry, Bellmoor; Besthorpe; Bestwood 2; Burntstump; Carlton Forest; East Leake; Finningley; Girton; Langford Lowfields; Linby; Lound/Blaco Hill; Misson Bawtry Road; Misson Newington; Misson West; Nether Langwith; Ratcher Hill; Rufford; Scrooby; and, Scrooby Top) and 12 that are currently inactive (Carlton in Lindrick; Cromwell; Holme Pierrepont; Hoveringham; Mattersey (two sites); Rampton; Serlby; Sturton le Steeple; Styrrup; Warsop; and, Yellowstone).
	None of the sites has received funding directly from the communities theme ("Objective 5")-Aggregate Levy Sustainably Fund funding is directed, via Nottinghamshire county council, to community projects.

Quarries: Nottinghamshire

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many current aggregate levy sustainability fund Objective 5 projects in Nottinghamshire are taking place at sites within one kilometre of a quarry.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Nottinghamshire county council has targeted communities "within 2 km of mineral extraction sites and any known extraction routes" for its funding from the communities theme ("Objective 5") of the Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund.
	Of the current (2009-10) projects, three are directly associated with former aggregates workings within this limit, and the remaining 15 fall within defined target areas of active and spent quarries and any known extraction routes.

Renewable Energy: Fuel Oil

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to increase regeneration capacity for waste oils; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Norris: DEFRA's policies on waste oils are set out in Waste Strategy for England 2007. We are currently considering the responses to the stage one consultation on the transposition of the revised Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC), including the provisions in article 21 on waste oils.

Special Protection Areas

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2010,  Official Report, column 831W, on Special Protection Areas: cats, what guidance the European Commission has provided on the  (a) implementation of the European Habitats Directive and  (b) appropriateness of banning domestic cats and dogs in housing developments close to areas with Special Protection status.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The European Commission has produced a range of guidance on specific articles of the Habitats Directive which is available on its website. I am not aware that any of this guidance gives specific advice on the appropriateness of banning domestic pets close to Special Protection Areas.

Tuna: Conservation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons the Government decided not to sign up to the EU protocol on sustainable fishing of tuna.

Huw Irranca-Davies: There is no official EU protocol on sustainable fishing of tuna. However, the UK plays a full part in tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organisations to work towards sustainable management of tuna stocks and, in the case of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, has been a leading voice within the EU in calling for additional measures through the listing on Appendix I on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in order to protect this stock.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Departmental Marketing

Robert Syms: To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip Northwood of 5 January 2010,  Official Report, column 103W, on departmental marketing, how much her Department and agencies have spent on advertising, marketing, public relations and publicity in relation to the  (a) Real Help Now and  (b) Building Britain's Future themed campaign to date.

Barbara Keeley: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons incurred no cost on advertising, marketing, public relations and publicity in relation to  (a) Real Help Now and  (b) Building Britain's Future themed campaigns to date.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the volume of carbon dioxide emissions from his Department's buildings in each year since 2005.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office did not centrally record its carbon emissions before the current financial year. This information is, however, now being recorded and will be reported in our forthcoming annual report.

Departmental Energy

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps his Department plans to take to participate in the Earth Hour event on 27 March 2010.

Ann McKechin: As part of the Scotland Office's continuing efforts to reduce energy consumption, staff are reminded regularly to turn off computers, monitors and other electrical equipment, unplug mobile phone chargers and switch off lights when rooms are not in use. As the 2010 Earth Hour event is on the evening of Saturday 27 March, our buildings are likely to be unoccupied. Security guards will ensure that no inessential lights are left on.

Departmental ICT

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information technology projects initiated by his Department were cancelled prior to completion in the last 12 months; and what the cost of each such project was to the public purse.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office shares an information technology system (SCOTS) with the Scottish Executive, which is responsible for the development, administration and maintenance of the system; consequently, the Office does not directly undertake IT projects.

Departmental Languages

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many  (a) Ministers and  (b) civil servants in his Department received coaching in a foreign language in the last 12 months; what expenditure his Department incurred in providing such coaching; and in what languages such coaching was provided.

Ann McKechin: No Ministers or civil servants received coaching in a foreign language in the last 12 months.

Trade Unions

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many days staff of his Department spent on trade union activity in the latest year for which figures are available; and what recent estimate he has made of the annual cost to the public purse of such activity.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office do not have any staff that spend time undertaking trade union activities.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy Supply

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the maximum transmission system demand was in each of the last 20 years.

David Kidney: DECC's data for the maximum transmission system demand are contained in our report 'UK Energy Sector Indicators 2009: Supporting Indicators Dataset':
	http://decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/publications/indicators/indicators.aspx
	The following table shows the data for 'simultaneous maximum electricity load met (left axis)' from 1985 to 2008.
	
		
			  Simultaneous maximum electricity load met, 1985 to 2008 (GW) 
			   GW simultaneous maximum load met, UK (left axis) 
			 1985 53.98 
			  55.33 
			  53.833 
			  53.555 
			  53.414 
			   
			 1990 54.068 
			  54.472 
			  51.663 
			  54.848 
			  52.362 
			   
			 1995 55.611 
			  56.815 
			  56.965 
			  56.312 
			  57.849 
			   
			 2000 58.452 
			  58.589 
			  61.717 
			  60.501 
			  61.013 
			  61.697 
			  59.071 
			  61.527 
			 2008 60.289 
			  Source:  DECC.

Fossil Fuels

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of UK energy demand has been met from fossil fuel sources in each year since 2006.

David Kidney: The volume and proportion of UK energy demand met from fossil fuel sources since 2006 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Million tonnes of oil equivalent 
			   2006  2007  2008 
			   Volume  Proportion (percentage)  Volume  Proportion (percentage)  Volume  Proportion (percentage) 
			 Coal 43.5 18.7 40.9 18.0 37.9 16.9 
			 Petroleum 77.1 33.1 75.6 33.4 74.4 33.2 
			 Natural gas 89.2 38.4 90.1 39.8 93.0 41.4 
			 Total all fossil fuels 209.8 90.2 206.6 91.2 205.2 91.5

Mining: Coal

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what  (a) deep and  (b) open-cast coal mines are operational; and what the annual output was of each such mine in each of the last five years.

David Kidney: The following table lists deep and surface coal mines operational as at March 2010. Statistics on the output from such mines are provided by operators to the industry's licensing body, the Coal Authority, on a confidential basis and are not publicly available.
	
		
			  Mines  
			  Deep  
			 Aberpergwm Colliery Neath Port Talbot 
			 Blaentillery No. 2 Colliery Torfaen 
			 Cannop Drift Mine Gloucestershire 
			 Daw Mill Colliery Warwickshire 
			 Eckington Colliery Derbyshire 
			 Hatfield Colliery Doncaster 
			 Hay Royds Colliery Kirklees 
			 Kellingley Colliery North Yorkshire 
			 Maltby Colliery Rotherham 
			 Monument Colliery Gloucestershire 
			 Nant Hir No. 2 Colliery Neath Port Talbot 
			 Thoresby Colliery Nottinghamshire 
			 Unity Mine Neath Port Talbot 
			 Welbeck Colliery Nottinghamshire 
			   
			  Surface  
			 Broken Cross South Lanarkshire 
			 Bwlch Ffos Neath Port Talbot 
			 Chalmerston East Ayrshire 
			 Cutacre Bolton 
			 Cwm Yr Onen Colliery Reclamation Neath Port Talbot 
			 East Pit Neath Port Talbot 
			 Engine Derbyshire 
			 Ffos-y-Fran Merthyr Tydfil 
			 Former Biwater Works Derbyshire 
			 Glenmuckloch Dumfries/Galloway 
			 Glentaggart South Lanarkshire 
			 Greenbank (St. Ninians) Fife 
			 Greenburn Project East Ayrshire 
			 House of Water East Ayrshire 
			 Lodge House Derbyshire 
			 Long Moor Leicestershire 
			 Methley Quarry Leeds 
			 Muir Dean Fife 
			 Nant Helen Powys 
			 Nant-y-Mynydd Site Neath Port Talbot 
			 Powharnal East Ayrshire 
			 Selar Neath Port Talbot 
			 Shewington Midlothian 
			 Shotton Northumberland 
			 Skares Road East Ayrshire 
			 Spireslack East Ayrshire 
			 Steadsburn Northumberland 
			 Temple Quarry Kirklees 
			 Wilsontown South Lanarkshire 
		
	
	Aggregate output from the listed mines in each of the last five years was as follows:
	
		
			  Output (tonnes) 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 Deep mines 7,598,740 8,270,180 7,467,230 7,926,010 7,495,440 
			 Surface mines 5,834,290 4,727,330 5,208,960 6,531,130 8,428,900

Nuclear Liabilities Financing Assurance Board: Meetings

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will publish on his Department's website the minutes of each meeting of the Nuclear Liabilities Financing Assurance Board to date.

David Kidney: The Department of Energy and Climate Change will aim to publish the minutes of meetings of the Nuclear Liabilities Financing Assurance Board on its website around the time of Easter.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Departmental Travel

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) Ministers and  (b) staff of each grade in (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies spent on first class travel in the last 12 months.

Barbara Follett: The Department does not hold this information centrally and it can be answered only at disproportionate cost.
	Fires Service College could provide this information only at disproportionate cost.
	Planning Inspectorate could provide this information only at disproportionate cost.
	Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre has had no expenditure on first class travel.

Essex County Council and Castle Point Borough Council: Pay

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy to  (a) collect information on and  (b) publish the value of remuneration packages for (i) the chief executive officer and the five highest paid officers of Castle Point borough council and (ii) the chief executive officer and the 10 highest paid officers of Essex county council in each of the last 10 years.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not currently collect or publish information about individual remuneration arrangements for local authority officers. However, the Department has brought forward new regulations to require local authorities to publish detailed salary and remuneration information for senior officers in their Statement of Annual Accounts with effect from 31 March 2010.

Local Government: East of England

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost to the public purse has been of all legal proceedings relating to the structural review of Norfolk, Suffolk and Devon.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not hold information about the costs incurred, by local authorities for legal proceedings that they have brought relating to the structural reviews in Devon, Norfolk and Suffolk.
	The current costs incurred by the Department are set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Legal costs to Department (£) 
			  Challenge against the Boundary Committee where the Secretary of State has been named as an Interested Party brought by:  
			 Breckland District Council and Others 62,450 
			 East Devon District Council 31,820 
			 Suffolk Coastal (R oao Forest Heath District Council) 45,875 
			 King's Lynn and Others 6,833 
			   
			  Challenge against the Secretary of State brought by:  
			 Devon and Norfolk County Councils 3,461 
		
	
	In litigation against the Boundary Committee related to the structural reviews, the Secretary of State appeared as an Interested Party and therefore did not seek costs.
	The Boundary Committee has incurred costs of some £358,700, some of which it is seeking to recover from local authorities involved in the litigation.

Local Government: Poole

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the borough of Poole council on the effects of trends in Government funding on the level of  (a) the provision of services by and  (b) employment in the council; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no recent discussions with representatives of the borough of Poole council on the effects of trends in Government funding.

OLYMPICS

Government Olympic Executive: Pay

Lee Scott: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much has been paid in bonuses to civil servants in the Government Olympic Executive in each year since its inception.

Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 18 January 2010,  Official Report, column 5W.

Olympic Games 2012: Private Finance Initiative

Angus Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many private finance initiative projects relating to the 2012 Olympics have been delayed because of problems obtaining finance; and what the monetary value of each contract is.

Tessa Jowell: There are no private finance initiative projects being funded from the public sector funding package for the 2012 Olympics. The former private developer projects-the Olympic Village and the International Broadcast Centre/Main Press Centre-which are now public sector projects, are on track to be delivered on time, as set out in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games Annual Report published on 9 February 2010.

Olympic Games 2012: Yorkshire and the Humber

John Battle: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will take steps to ensure that sporting venues in  (a) Yorkshire and  (b) Leeds benefit from expenditure incurred in hosting the London 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: Sporting venues in Leeds and Yorkshire are well placed to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the London 2012 Olympics.
	Sport England has recently made a significant investment in the Aquatics Centre at the John Charles Sports Centre in Leeds. These facilities will play a significant part in developing young swimmers and divers and in hosting visiting Olympic squads. The £5 million investment has helped deliver an international standard 50 metre competition and training pool with moveable boom and floor that meets the needs of both performance swimmers and the local community. It also includes one of the best equipped diving competition and training pools in the UK.
	Leeds has also benefited from the Free Swimming capital programme with awards totalling almost £2.5 million. This investment will help modernise several key community swimming pools including those at Aireborough and Kirkstall.
	There are 49 pre-games training camps in Yorkshire that are available to Olympics teams and the Serbian and Dutch swimming teams have already committed to holding their pre-games training camps in Leeds.
	Sheffield also hosts the GB squads for boxing, volleyball and table tennis, and one of the GB centres for diving. These four sports have received their funding allocation from UK sport based on their plans for London 2012 and have used some of their Cabinet Office programme's funding to enhance squad facilities. For example, boxing has invested in improving and expanding training areas in the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield into one of the best amateur boxing centres in the world.
	Also, Dalby Forest in North Yorkshire has won the right to host the UCI Cross Country Mountain Bike World Cup based on their initial Olympic bid to be a games-time venue.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Exhaust Emissions

John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when he last reviewed the processes used to  (a) collect and  (b) publish the annual emissions of carbon dioxide from domestic aviation; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: I have been asked to reply.
	 (a) We estimate the annual emissions of carbon dioxide from domestic aviation in accordance with the IPCC 1996 revised guidelines, as we are required to do under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
	These guidelines were reviewed and revised in 2006; however, the 2006 guidelines will not be implemented until after the 2008-12 Kyoto protocol commitment period.
	Full details of both the 1996 revised guidelines and the 2006 guidelines can be found on the IPCC website at the following link:
	http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/index.html
	 (b) Estimates of UK carbon dioxide emissions from all sectors, including domestic aviation, covering the period 1990 to 2008 were published by DECC as National Statistics on 2 February 2010.
	These form part of the UK's greenhouse gas inventory submission for 2008, and represent the latest available estimates.
	The statistics can be found at the following link:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/climate_change/gg_emissions/uk_emissions/2008_final/2008_final.aspx

Aviation: Safety

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will hold discussions with aircraft manufacturers on the relative safety merits of aircraft black boxes and real time data transmitters.

Paul Clark: The responsibility for determining what equipment should be installed on aircraft registered in the EU now rests with the European Aviation Safety Agency.

Departmental Contracts

Don Touhig: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what criteria his Department uses in determining the award of contracts; and how much his Department and its predecessors spent on the advertisement of tenders for Government contracts since 1997.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport is required to comply with the Public Contract Regulations 2006 which require for contracts above the EU threshold to be awarded based on the "most economically advantageous tender" or "the lowest priced tender". However, it is Government policy to award contracts on the basis of the most advantageous tender and the Department follows this policy in respect of its tender evaluations.
	The Department does not hold centrally information relating to the costs of advertising tenders and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, from the information that is available, the Department has spent £51,560 on advertisement of tenders since the Department was formed in May 2002.

Departmental Plants

David Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies spent on pot plants in 2009-10 to date.

Chris Mole: The requested information is as follows:
	 (a) £13,724
	 (b) £57,514
	The above expenditure typically relates to interior displays in the public reception areas of Department for Transport offices and in some cases includes maintenance costs.
	All expenditure was incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety. We need to provide an environment where people work well and the provision of plants contributes to this, but we recognise the figure is high. These costs will therefore be significantly reduced over the next year along with other efficiency savings.
	The data above excludes the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA). VOSA does not record the information requested and this can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Temporary Staff

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport from which companies his Department sourced temporary staff in each of the last three years; how many temporary staff his Department employed in each year; and what the monetary value of the contracts with each such company was in each such year.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport and its executive agencies operate separate finance and Human Resource systems and there are no centralised records relating to the numbers of temporary staff employed or the value of contracts with suppliers used to source temporary staff. To search across the Department's disparate finance and Human Resource systems to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	Information relating to spend on temporary staff is published in the Department's annual report. In the past three years these figures are:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2006-07 16.906 
			 2007-08 27.265 
			 2008-09 27.700 
		
	
	Where records are available, the numbers of temporary staff employed by the Department in the past three years are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2006-07 1,088 
			 2007-08 1,353 
			 2008-09 1,075 
		
	
	A table has been placed in the Libraries of the House showing the suppliers that the Department has used to source temporary staff between April 2007 and March 2009 and spend during this period.

Government Car and Despatch Agency: Consultants

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2010,  Official Report, column 187W, on the Government Car and Despatch Agency, on which projects the Agency engaged external consultants in each of those years.

Paul Clark: The Government Car and Despatch Agency engaged external consultants to work on the following projects in each of the years between 2004-05 and 2008-09 inclusive.
	
		
			   Projects 
			 2008-09 Government Mail Business Development 
			  Working Time Directive implementation 
			  HR Support, including pay negotiations 
			  Maintenance and Award of ISO Management Systems 
			  IT Systems 
			   
			 2007-08 Pay Award Negotiations 
			  Maintenance and Award of ISO Management Systems 
			  Customer Satisfaction Survey 
			  Facilities Management 
			  IT Systems 
			   
			 2006-07 Development of Performance Management Systems 
			  Customer Satisfaction Survey 
			  IT Systems 
			  Maintenance of ISO Management Systems 
			  Government Mail Business Development 
			  Marketing 
			   
			 2005-06 Customer Satisfaction Survey 
			  Maintenance and Award of ISO Management Systems IT Systems 
			  Marketing 
			  HR support 
			   
			 2004-05 Customer Satisfaction Survey 
			  Maintenance and Award of ISO Management Systems Government Mail Business Development 
			  HR support 
			  IT Systems

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authorities have sufficient funding to undertake repairs and resurfacing work on roads for which they are responsible.

Sadiq Khan: This Department has provided sustained levels of funding to local authorities to assist them to invest in their roads. Since the introduction of the Local Transport Plan (LTP) settlement in 2001-02 this Department has more than doubled annual capital funding to local authorities across England (outside London) for maintaining local roads. LTP capital funding for highway maintenance in 2009-10 is £736 million, up from £265 million in 2000-01. Funding in London is a matter for the Mayor.
	Local authorities are also able to use revenue funding, allocated by the Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG) through the Formula Grant, for maintaining their local highways. Neither of these funding sources are ring fenced. It is for local authorities to decide upon their spending priorities across the whole range of services that they provide.
	In addition the Department has provided PFI funding to assist authorities to develop highway maintenance PFI schemes. Currently £2 billion PFI credits have been allocated for highways maintenance schemes. One project with allocated PFI credits of £121 million has been signed. In addition there are three projects in procurement with approved PFI credits of £1.5 billion. A further highway maintenance PFI project with approved funding of £365 million PFI credits is shortly to enter into procurement.
	The Department has also provided emergency funding to local authorities to assist them to carry out repairs to their highways arising from extreme weather events.
	We have also encouraged local authorities to adopt transport asset management plans. These will include inventories of highways assets, their existing condition, and the target condition based upon desired service levels. Knowledge of the condition of highways assets and the desired service level that an authority intends those assets to deliver, are key components in the process of deciding what expenditure is required.
	A Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy report in July 2008 concluded that £15 million would be necessary to assist local authorities in Great Britain to develop transport asset management. Last year this Department allocated £32 million to assist English local authorities take forward highway asset management.

Roads: Snow and Ice

Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what proportion of roads in each region were gritted following snowfall between November 2009 and February 2010.

Sadiq Khan: The Highways Agency treated the whole of the Strategic Road Network in England throughout the period. Winter service on other roads is the responsibility of each local highway authority and this information is not collected centrally.

Roads: Snow and Ice

Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps his Department takes to ensure roads are safe for drivers during periods of snowfall.

Sadiq Khan: The Highways Agency through its service providers implements area-specific winter maintenance plans across the Strategic Road Network throughout the winter period. Snow ploughs are fitted as soon as snow is forecast. Salt is spread both in advance of and during snow fall, supplemented by ploughing as required to ensure that the network remains as safe as reasonably practicable. The agency also provides information and advice to road users using variable message signs, the internet and via the media.
	Winter service on other roads is the responsibility of each local highway authority. The Department for Transport endorses the winter service guidance provided by the UK Roads Liaison Group in its highways maintenance code of practice, "Well-maintained Highways". This makes clear that safety is a prime consideration for winter service. My Department wrote to each local authority last year with a leaflet "Are you ready for winter?", when the winter service guidance was updated, encouraging authorities to review their winter service strategies.

Roads: Speed Limits

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport on which  (a) roads and  (b) sections of road variable speed limits have been introduced in each of the last 10 years.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport does not routinely collate information about the location of variable speed limits. For principal roads or if the speed limit is varied to 20 mph, local traffic authorities have powers to introduce variable speed limits without consent from the Secretary of State. On the strategic road network, variable speed limits are located among other locations, on:
	M25-Junction 10 to Junction 16
	M42-Junction J3A to Junction 7
	M6-Junction 4 to Junction 5
	M42-Junction 7 to Junction 9
	M40-Junction 16 to M42 Junction 3A.

Thameslink Railway Line

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure the availability in the medium term of sufficient rolling stock able to negotiate the Moorgate tunnel.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport is in negotiation with First Capital Connect to provide additional capacity to the route.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Armed Conflict

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's long-term strategy for its activities in Afghanistan is.

Bob Ainsworth: Our military strategy in Afghanistan is designed to set the security conditions for the success of a broader political strategy, led by the Afghans themselves, and supported by the international community.
	UK armed forces are operating in Afghanistan as part of the 44-nation international security assistance force (ISAF). ISAF forces are conducting security and stability operations throughout the country in support of the Afghan Government, and are supporting the growth in capacity and capability of the Afghan national security forces. Our armed forces, alongside our ISAF partners, also play an important role in facilitating improvements in governance and socio-economic development.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much  (a) aviation and  (b) vehicle fuel for British forces in Afghanistan cost in each of the last five years.

Quentin Davies: The following table sets out the ground fuel and aviation fuel costs for Afghanistan for financial years (FYs) 2005-06 through to 2009-10, up to the end of January 2010.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Financial year  Ground fuel  Aviation fuel 
			 2009-10 (end January 2010) 41.122 61.639 
			 2008-09 48.890 66.317 
			 2007-08 40.182 2.671 
			 2006-07 5.447 2.866 
			 2005-06 1.180 0.436 
			 Total 136.821 133.929

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the budget is per person per day for meals for military personnel serving in Afghanistan.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Minister for Veterans (Mr. Jones) gave on 6 January 2010,  Official Report, column 437, to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban).

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent assessment is of the tactical requirement for long-range patrol vehicles in the current military operation in Afghanistan.

Bob Ainsworth: Commanders in Afghanistan have stressed the importance of having a range of vehicles from which they can select the most appropriate for specific tasks, including patrol vehicles. The use by our armed forces of all vehicle types is kept under constant review to ensure that they continue to meet operational requirements.

Air Force: Deployment

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average weekly flying time for a Royal Air Force pilot is.

Bill Rammell: Average weekly flying hours for RAF pilots are not recorded centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Aircraft Carriers

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Government plan to exempt the Queen Elizabeth carrier programme from the upcoming Strategic Defence Review.

Bob Ainsworth: We have been very clear since the publication of the Defence Green Paper that everything other than Trident is included in the Strategic Defence Review. But unless the review takes us in a very radical new direction, aircraft carriers are likely to remain critical elements of our force structure. That is why we have signed the contracts and cut the steel.

Army: Counselling

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will investigate the reason for the increase in spending by his Department between 2003 and 2008 on counselling services for new recruits or Phase 1 trainees to the Army; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Following the Blake Report and the Government's response in June 2006, the Army has striven further to ensure that the best welfare provision is in place for soldiers under training. We have made improvements in the level of welfare support available to new recruits, as well as in the way in which we monitor and report incidents. For example, the implementation of the Army's Suicide Vulnerability Risk Management Policy represents a major stride, since the tragic events at Deepcut, in our drive to reduce the incidence of suicide in the Army. We have also improved the military complaints process and increased supervisory levels in establishments with new recruits.
	The Army's efforts to improve the welfare support available to recruits and trainees are having an effect. According to the results of the 2009 tri-service Recruit Trainee Survey over 90 per cent. of recruits and trainees consider that they are well looked after and fully understand the support that is there should they require it. An Ofsted report in June 2009 found that the support and care provided to recruits and trainees was comprehensive and wide ranging.

Bahrain: Military Bases

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which UK military assets are based in Bahrain.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 5 March 2010
	 HMS Grimsby, HMS Pembroke, HMS Chiddingfold and HMS Atherstone are permanently based in Bahrain. Other Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels operating in the region routinely visit Bahrain but are not permanently based there.
	As Bahrain is within an operational theatre I am withholding information on other UK military assets which may be present because it would, or would be likely to, prejudice the efficiency, security and capability of the armed forces.

Departmental Buildings

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on office refurbishments in each of the last 10 years.

Bob Ainsworth: The requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Legal Costs

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent in  (a) legal fees and  (b) compensation on cases involving harassment of its employees in each of the last 10 years.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 4 March 2010
	 The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was paid in reimbursable expenses to special advisers in his Department in each of the last five years.

Bob Ainsworth: Procedures for reimbursing staff expenses are set out in the Ministry of Defence policy manual and are in line with the provisions set out in the Civil Service Management Code. The code can be viewed at the following link:
	www.civilservice.gov.uk/iam/codes/csmc/index.asp
	As temporary civil servants special advisers are subject to the same rules.
	The following table contains the total amount of reimbursable expenses claimed by MOD special advisers over the last five financial years.
	
		
			  Financial year  Total expenses (£) 
			 2004-05 3,465.12 
			 2005-06 1,104.57 
			 2006-07 0 
			 2007-08 44.00 
			 2008-09 2,992.41

Departmental Security

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many valid civilian passes granting access to his Department's buildings have been issued to employees of private defence companies;
	(2)  to which private defence companies civilian passes been issued since 1 January 2008.

Kevan Jones: The requested information is not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Security

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what purposes civilian passes are issued to employees of private defence companies.

Kevan Jones: Passes are issued to employees of defence companies in order that they may undertake contract-based activity and/or attend meetings with MOD customers.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence from which companies his Department sourced temporary staff in each of the last three years; how many temporary staff his Department employed in each year; and what the monetary value of the contracts with each such company was in each such year.

Kevan Jones: The People Pay and Pensions Agency (PPPA) began providing a service to engage manpower substitutes for the Department in November 2006, which covered clerical and administrative grades only. In 2008, the PPPA expanded their service to cover interim professional grades, before the service was further expanded in 2009 alongside the launch of a service to engage agency workers to fill industrial and security guard posts. For other grades employed by the MOD, individual business units are still making their own arrangements to engage temporary staff in some circumstances. The number of temporary workers engaged via the PPPA in the last three years are as follows:
	
		
			  Temporary workers engaged 
			  1 March to 28 February  Number 
			 2007-08 1,471 
			 2008-09 1,457 
			 2009-10 2,499 
		
	
	In the past three years, the PPPA has obtained temporary staff from the agencies listed as follows:
	1st Choice Recruitment, AACE Ltd., Abacus Recruitment Ltd., Able Recruitment, Acorn 4 Jobs Ltd., Adecco UK Ltd., Alpha Personnel, Atebion, Atos Origin UK Ltd., Aviation Requirements Ltd., Badenoch  Clark, Barbara Barnes Recruitment, Capita Resourcing, Champion Recruitment, Charterhouse Recruitment, Chiltern Recruitment, Classic Recruitment, Clemtech, Concept Staffing, Cooper Lomaz, COS Recruitment, Elite Personnel Ltd., E-Man Solutions, Energy Footprint Ltd., England Associates, Fresh Approach Solutions, G4S, Hays Int Prof, Hays Specialist Recruitment Ltd., HR Go Recruitment, HRM Recruitment, J M Associates, Jennifer Griffiths Recruitment, JRA Aerospace, Kelly Services, Key Personnel, LA International, Macdonald + Company Freelance Ltd., Manpower UK Ltd., Methods Consulting, Military Medical Personnel, Morganblair, Morson International, Mountain HealthCare Ltd., MPI Aviation, MSB, NB Personnel, Office Angels, OfficeTeam, Paterson Accountancy, Personnel Selection, Pertemps Recruitment Partnership Ltd., Phoenix Strategic Ltd., Point Recruitment, Pro Active Personnel, Qinetiq Ltd., Recruitment Solutions (Folkestone) Ltd., Reed Accountancy, Reed Employment plc, Robert Half International, Royle Recruitment, Sally Hawke, SCOM, SIMS Catering Waitress Hire LLP, Storm Recruitment, Systems Consultants Services, Team Support Services, The Top Agency, The Venn Group, Turner Charles Ltd., Venus Office Staffing Recruitment, Vigilant, Wenbee Ltd., WendyB Employment Consultancy, Work Force.
	The monetary value of the contracts with each agency is commercially confidential. I am withholding the information as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

Royal Regiment of Scotland: Military Exercises

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of his Department's planned military training exercises for  (a) the 1st Battalion,  (b) the 2nd Battalion,  (c) the 3rd Battalion,  (d) the 4th Battalion and  (e) the 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland were cancelled before they took place in each of the last five years.

Bill Rammell: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Trident Submarines

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on the maintenance, operation and re-fitting of Trident submarines in each of the last 10 years.

Bob Ainsworth: It is not possible to provide full costs for the maintenance, operation and refitting of the Vanguard class submarines over the whole of the last 10 years as some of the information is not held in the format requested or held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The following table therefore shows the costs that are available in each of the last 10 years.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 External Contractor Costs n/a n/a n/a 0.5 4.3 1.1 1.8 5.7 7.1 3.0 
			 Estimated HM Naval Base Clyde Labour Costs n/a n/a n/a 0.9 7.7 2.1 3.4 10.7 10.7 5.5 
			 LOP(R) Planning and Long Lead Materials 0.0 6.8 45.4 23.0 32.6 19.5 18.8 17.4 27.2 13.3 
			 Vanguard Class LOP (R) 0.0 0.0 0.0 91.0 60.3 75.2 76.6 96.8 60.3 64.4 
			 Alterations and Additions n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 3.9 
			 Maintenance and refit total 0.0 6.8 45.4 115.3 104.9 97.9 100.7 130.6 105.2 90.8 
			
			 Vanguard Class Operational Manpower n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 44.2 44.3 46.3 
			 Vanguard Class Stock n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 5.9 6.9 8.1 
			 Other costs across Vanguard Class n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1.0 1.2 1.6 
			 Operation total n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 51.1 52.3 56.0 
			 n/a = Not available 
		
	
	The columns may not add to the total given due to rounding. All years apart from 2008-09 have some data that are not available, so the totals provided are incomplete for those years.
	The Refit and Maintenance costs take account of the costs of delivering the ongoing Vanguard Class Long Overhaul Period (Refuel) (LOP (R)) programme, the costs of LOP(R) planning, and the procurement of long lead materials. The Refit and Maintenance costs do not include the D154 contract for the Submarine Refitting Facilities Upgrade at Devonport.
	For 2002-03 onwards, the costs for Refit and Maintenance include external contractor costs, known as Contracted Out Operational Support (COOPS) under the Warship Support Modernisation Initiative (WSMI), where these can be attributed to the Vanguard Class. The COOPS costs relate to the provision of specialist subcontractor support for propulsion systems, masts and sensors, and weapons systems. It is not possible to provide equivalent costs prior to 2002 as these are not held in the format requested. The COOPS figure for 2002-03 only covers the six months for which data is available.
	The figures given for the labour costs at Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde are estimated because, under WSMI, these costs are collected for HMNB Clyde as a whole, and are not attributed to specific classes of ships or submarines. The figures quoted are derived from the total WSMI costs using a standard methodology. Costs are not available prior to 2002 because the contract for WSMI did not commence until September 2002, and information prior to this is not held in the format requested.
	Alterations and Additions costs have been supplied only for 2008-09, which is the only year for which figures are available.
	Nuclear propulsion costs are not held in the format requested because they cannot be broken down by submarine class. These costs would include the supply of spares and maintenance of Nuclear Steam Raising Plant components, the costs of Technical Authority support for maintenance of the design intent and safety case, the independent nuclear safety advice for the plant, and the provision of new reactor cores at refits. They would also cover the provision of cores, spares and other materiel maintenance by the equipment suppliers.
	Operating costs prior to 2006-07 are not held centrally. The operating costs include manpower, stock (such as tools and hardware) and other costs such as travel and subsistence, and accommodation stores.

Trident: Finance

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent estimate is of the level of  (a) actual and  (b) projected expenditure on the (A) nuclear deterrent programme, including the Atomic Weapons Establishment and the future submarine programme, (B) Atomic Weapons Establishment and (C) future submarine programme in the period covered by the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

Bob Ainsworth: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

Unidentified Flying Objects

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons his Department plans a retention period of one month for reports of unidentified flying objects.

Kevan Jones: The long-term retention of UFO sighting reports delivers no benefit to defence and diverts resources from higher priority tasks. UFO sighting reports passed to the MOD are retained for 30 days to allow correspondents to request the return of their reports should they wish to do so and are then destroyed.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Elections

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the presidential decree regarding the Electoral Complaints Commission in Afghanistan on the likelihood of free and fair parliamentary elections in that country in 2010; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The Electoral Complaints Commission is a key oversight body and the individuals appointed to its panel will be subject to close scrutiny and will need to be of the highest quality and integrity. As agreed at the London Conference, the Afghan Government will work closely with the UN to learn lessons from the 2009 elections and to deliver improvements to the electoral process in 2010 and beyond. We will continue, alongside international partners, to support Afghan and UN efforts.

British Nationals Abroad: Prisoners

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of British citizens imprisoned in overseas jurisdictions; and what support and assistance his Department provides to such people.

Chris Bryant: On 30 September 2009 we were aware of 2,582 British nationals detained overseas. This figure is calculated every six months. In April we will have the figure for 31 March 2010. The support we can offer is set out in the publication Support for British Nationals Abroad: A Guide. This includes making contact with the detainee, visiting if they want us to, making contact with their family, again if they want us to, offering basic information about the local legal and prison systems and a list of local interpreters and lawyers. If appropriate, we will consider approaching the local authorities if a detainee is not treated in line with internationally-accepted standards, including if they are mistreated. Within certain limits, we can forward funds to the detainee. We can also help them contact non-governmental organisations who offer support, such as Prisoners Abroad and, where appropriate, Fair Trials International or Reprieve.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to  (a) encourage the ending of links between the Rwandan authorities and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and  (b) seek to ensure that the sanctions imposed by the United Nations in respect of the Democratic Republic of Congo are maintained.

Ivan Lewis: The Rwandan authorities are not linked to the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). The FDLR are an illegal militia group mainly comprising ex-genocidaires from the previous Rwandan regime. We welcome the rapprochement between Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo and the cooperation between the two countries in tackling the FDLR.
	We take our obligations under sanctions very seriously and will not hesitate to support sanctions against any person or company against whom there is sufficient evidence.

Departmental Languages

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many  (a) Ministers and  (b) civil servants in his Department received coaching in a foreign language in the last 12 months; what expenditure his Department incurred in providing such coaching; and in what languages such coaching was provided.

Chris Bryant: One Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Minister, Lord Mervyn Davies, undertook language training in the past 12 months at a cost of £212.80.
	370 FCO civil servants have received language training in the following 52 languages (in no particular order):
	French
	Danish
	Spanish
	Vietnamese
	Portuguese
	Russian
	Mandarin
	Japanese
	Nepali
	Norwegian
	Polish
	Dutch
	Turkish
	Arabic
	Dari
	Spanish LA
	Malay
	Italian
	Macedonian
	Cantonese
	German
	Farsi
	Pashto
	Albanian
	Uzbek
	Somali
	Urdu
	Bulgarian
	Bengali
	Swedish
	Montenegrin
	Portuguese (Brazilian)
	Hebrew
	Georgian
	Greek
	Amharic
	Bosnian
	Ukrainian
	Romanian
	Korean
	Hindi
	Indonesian
	Cantonese
	Mongolian
	Serbian
	Czech
	Sorani Kurdish
	Persian
	Thai
	Slovene
	Latvian
	Tagalog.
	The total spend by the FCO's Language Policy and Standards Team from 1 March 2009 to date is £2,591,016. (This figure includes administration, travel and examination expenses.)

Government Hospitality: Wines

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2010,  Official Report, column 835W, on Government hospitality: wines, from what wine merchants and producers his Department purchased wine in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008.

Chris Bryant: During 2007 Government Hospitality purchased wines from the following suppliers:
	Corney and Barrow Ltd
	Justerini and Brooks Ltd
	Jereboams
	Berry Bros and Rudd Ltd
	Averys of Bristol
	Lea and Sandeman Ltd
	Mentzendorff Ltd
	John Armit Wines
	Waitrose
	O W Loeb
	Bibendum Wines Ltd
	Pol Roger Ltd
	Maisons, Marques et Domaines Ltd
	Hatch Mansfield Wines Ltd
	Denbies
	Three Choirs Vineyards
	English Wines Group
	Ridgeview Estate
	Breaky Bottom Vineyards
	Nyetimber Ltd
	During 2008 Government Hospitality purchased wines from the following suppliers:
	English Wines Group
	Denbies
	Averys of Bristol
	Berry Bros and Rudd Ltd
	Pol Roger Ltd
	Waitrose
	Maisons, Marques et Domaines Ltd
	Corney and Barrow Ltd
	Haynes Hanson and Clark Ltd
	O W Loeb
	Hatch Mansfield Wines Ltd
	Lea and Sandeman Ltd
	Justerini and Brooks Ltd
	Jereboams.

Government Hospitality: Wines

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of each of the Government Hospitality Advisory Committee for the Purchase of Wine's meetings in the last 12 months.

Chris Bryant: Copies of the minutes of the Government Hospitality Advisory Committee for the Purchase of Wine (edited to protect commercial confidentiality) are available through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Freedom of Information web pages. The Committee's annual report is already in the Library of the House. I will place copies of the minutes from 2009 in the Library of the House.

Greece: Death

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance  (a) the British Consulate in Corfu and  (b) officials in his Department provided to the next of kin of Stephen Oliver; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: Consular staff both in Corfu and London provided consular assistance to Stephen Oliver's family throughout this tragic case. We advised Mr. Oliver's family of the practical procedures for dealing with a death of a British national in Corfu. As Consular staff took immediate action to follow up concerns raised by the family about the behaviour of the local undertaker. We have since removed him from the embassy's list of approved undertakers in Greece. Consular staff are unable to accept personal belongings of British nationals. We tried on several occasions to make contact with Mr. Oliver's friends and the local undertaker in order to arrange for his personal belongings to be returned to the UK. Consular staff further assisted by arranging (for Mrs. Oliver during her visit to Corfu) meetings with the Coroner's office and the local undertaker.

Iran: Human Rights

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the imprisonment of Behzad Nabavi; and what his most recent assessment is of levels of political and civil freedom in Iran.

Ivan Lewis: Former Member of Parliament and Minister, Behzad Nabavi, was one of several notable figures arrested on 16 June 2009 following the disputed presidential elections in Iran. The EU raised concerns about these detentions on 3 August with the Iranian authorities in Tehran, and again in a declaration on 23 October. On 9 February Nabavi was sentenced to five years imprisonment for his role in the post election unrest. The Iranian authorities continue to suppress legitimate protest, restrict civil and political liberties and use the threat of violence, and even execution, to silence dissent. Despite this many brave Iranians continue to demand their fundamental rights. We urge the Iranian authorities to heed their citizens' calls, and to release all individuals detained for political offences.

Iran: Human Rights

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the number of opposition figures  (a) imprisoned and  (b) executed in Iran since the most recent presidential election.

Ivan Lewis: While there are no official figures available on the numbers of opposition figures imprisoned since the June 2009 election, international estimates broadly agree that around 3,000 individuals have been arrested. Many have subsequently been released; however others remain in detention or have stood trial. We are concerned that the whereabouts of many more remains unknown.
	We cannot confirm that any opposition figures have been executed for involvement in the post-election unrest, however we are concerned that a number of individuals have been sentenced to death in televised show-trials which fell far short of international standards guaranteeing the right to a fair trial. On 28 January Iran executed Arash Rahmanipour and Mohammad Reza Ali-Zamani; both were sentenced to death for enmity against God following prosecution at show trials.

Iran: Human Rights

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he plans to take to seek to ensure that Iran complies with international human rights conventions and laws.

Ivan Lewis: It is clear that the people of Iran are leading the charge for human rights and democracy, however they need to know that their calls for basic rights and freedoms are supported by the international community. The Iranian Government have a duty to ensure that their actions live up to the human rights standards to which it has committed. The United Kingdom was one of many UN member states to draw attention to the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran during its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva on 15 February. The HRC is currently in session in Geneva, and we are seeking every opportunity to draw attention to the situation in Iran, both nationally and as the EU. My noble Friend Baroness Kinnock raised our concerns when addressing the Council on 2 March and we did so again in our response to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 4 March.
	We raised concerns with the Iranian authorities on at least 70 occasions last year, either bilaterally or through the EU and UN. We will continue to work hard alongside partners, international Non-governmental organisations and civil society to ensure that the Iranian regime is held to account over its appalling human rights record.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's latest assessment is of Iran's nuclear capabilities.

Ivan Lewis: The latest Iran report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General highlights that Iran has increased its stockpile of low enriched uranium to 2,065 kg in defiance of UN Security Council Resolutions; is starting to enrich to higher levels when there is no civilian purpose and has announced plans for 10 new enrichment plants. Iran's refusal to answer questions about possible military dimensions to its programme leads the IAEA to express concern about development of a nuclear payload.

Israel: EU External Trade

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his European counterparts on the provision of EU concessions to the State of Israel following the European Court of Justice ruling that Israeli goods made in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank cannot be considered Israeli; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 4 March 2010
	The European Court of Justice's recent ruling in the case of C-386/08 (Brita-Gmbh) concerned the procedures which a EU member state's customs authority should follow in a case where imported goods are shown as being of Israeli origin, and preferential customs tariff treatment is claimed under the EC-Israel Association Agreement, but where there is reason to suppose that the goods in question did in fact originate in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs).
	This ruling has no effect on the Government's policies, since the Court's ruling confirms the correctness of the policy already in place and I have had no discussions. There are no inconsistencies between the Court's ruling and the technical advice concerning the labelling of produce grown in the OPTs that was issued by DEFRA on 10 December 2009.

Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what negotiating position his Department has adopted for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in May 2010; and what objectives he has set for the outcomes of that conference.

Ivan Lewis: The United Kingdom is committed to working intensively with a wide range of international partners to establish consensus for strengthening the non-proliferation and disarmament regime.
	We want the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference to produce a mandate or action plan, which is balanced across the three mutually-reinforcing NPT pillars of non-proliferation, disarmament and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Spain: EC Presidency

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had in the General Affairs Council on the agenda of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union.

Chris Bryant: I attended the General Affairs Council on 25 January 2010 where Spain's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Co-operation presented the programme for the Spanish Presidency. We welcomed the Spanish Presidency's choice of priorities, in particular the focus on economic recovery with a low carbon, social agenda at its core.
	A more comprehensive overview was given in our Command Paper 7778 Prospects for the European Union: The Spanish Presidency, laid before the House on 29 January 2010.

WALES

Referendums

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which  (a) individuals and  (b) organisations will be consulted on the request made by the National Assembly for Wales for a referendum to be held under the provisions of the Government of Wales Act 2006.

Peter Hain: These issues are currently being progressed.

Referendums

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales by what date he is required to give a response to the request for a referendum from the National Assembly for Wales.

Peter Hain: 17 June 2010.

Welsh Language

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues and the Welsh Assembly Government on the use of the Welsh language in Welsh politics; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: I discuss a range of issues with ministerial colleagues in Whitehall and with the First Minister including those relating to the Welsh language and the passage of the Welsh Language LCO. I also met the Welsh Language Group Mudiadau Dathlu'r Gymraeg last month.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Camelot

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what discussions his Department has had with  (a) the National Lottery Commission and  (b) Camelot on Camelot's application to operate certain commercial services in addition to the National Lottery; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to ensure the National Lottery Commission consults stakeholders and other interested parties on the implications for its core National Lottery business and brand of Camelot's application to operate certain commercial services; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My officials and I have regular meetings with both the National Lottery Commission and Camelot about the full range of National Lottery regulation issues, and the possibility of Camelot providing commercial services which are ancillary to the operation of the National Lottery has been discussed in that context.
	The approval of the National Lottery Commission is required before the National Lottery operator can undertake any ancillary activity and the commission is currently considering a proposal from Camelot to offer commercial services using National Lottery terminals. The commission will consider the proposal in light of its statutory duties and therefore will take into account issues such as the implications for the core National Lottery business and brand.
	The commission is currently consulting on the EU/competition law considerations which may arise from the proposal, as these are issues on which those already offering such services have a direct interest. The commission considers that it will have sufficient information to exercise its discretion properly, without consulting on the implications for the core National Lottery business and brand.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the total carbon dioxide emissions from his Department's buildings in each year since 2005.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The estimate from carbon dioxide emissions from offices is as follows:
	
		
			   Tonnes of carbon dioxide 
			 2006-07 4,615 
			 2007-08 2,251 
			 2008-09 1,760 
		
	
	Information prior to 2006 is not available.

Departmental ICT

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what information technology projects initiated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies were cancelled prior to completion in the last 12 months; and what the cost of each such project was to the public purse.

Gerry Sutcliffe: No information technology projects have been cancelled prior to completion by my Department or its agency in the last 12 months.

Departmental Marketing

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip Northwood of 5 January 2010,  Official Report, column 103W, on departmental marketing, how much his Department and agencies have spent on advertising, marketing, public relations and publicity in relation to the  (a) Real Help Now and  (b) Building Britain's Future themed campaign to date.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Both Real Help Now and Building Britain's Future are cross-government campaigns.
	This Department spent £300 on a flyer for the Future jobs Fund, as part of the Real Jobs Now campaign. We have not spent anything directly on Building Britain's Future.

Departmental Offices

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on office refurbishments in each of the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department has spent the following on office refurbishments in each of the last 10 years.
	
		
			   £ 
			 1999-2000 243,000 
			 2000-01 0 
			 2001-02 0 
			 2002-03 0 
			 2003-04 0 
			 2004-05 0 
			 2005-06 0 
			 2006-07 8,700,000 
			 2007-08 0 
			 2008-09 40,625

Departmental Plants

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies has spent on pot plants in 2009-10.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department has spent £11,018 to date on pot plants in the financial year 2009-10.
	The Royal Parks has spent £545 to date on pot plants in the financial year 2009-10.

National Lottery: Sports

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much National Lottery funding was spent on grass roots sports  (a) in Poole and  (b) nationally in each year from 1997 to 2009, expressed in real terms.

Gerry Sutcliffe: National Lottery Funding for grass roots sports is delivered by two bodies, Sport England and the Big Lottery Fund (BIG).
	 (a) Lottery funding to Poole channelled through Sport England from 1997 to 2009 is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial  y ear  Sport England lottery funding Poole  (£) 
			 1997-98 9,735 
			 1999-2000 429,000 
			 2000-01 225,938 
			 2002-03 497,716 
			 2004-05 60,000 
			 2005-06 60,000 
			 2006-07 277,074 
			 2007-08 188,000 
			 2008-09 814,801 
			 2009-10(1) 15,850 
			 Total 2,578,114 
			 (1) To 31 December 2009 
		
	
	 (b) Total Lottery funding channelled through Sport England nationally from 1997 to 2009 is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial  y ear  Sport England lottery funding nationally  (£) 
			 1997-98 189,236,874 
			 1998-99 320,737,864 
			 1999-2000 145,594,539 
			 2000-01 326,520,739 
			 2001-02 470,613,280 
			 2002-03 239,418,750 
			 2003-04 160,389,252 
			 2004-05 188,274,936 
			 2005-06 157,199,588 
			 2006-07 126,031,063 
			 2007-08 106,495,643 
			 2008-09 103,483,937 
			 2009-10 252,700,764 
			 Total 2,786,697,229 
		
	
	 (a) The BIG Lottery Fund's actual expenditure (rather than awards made) comprise £830,604, distributed to a total of nine community sports projects where the beneficiaries are located in the Poole constituency.
	
		
			  Financial  y ear  BIG amount distributed  Poole  (£) 
			 2002-03 15,965 
			 2003-04 423,033 
			 2004-05 391,611 
			 Total 830,609 
		
	
	 (b) Total Lottery funding channelled through BIG and its predecessor bodies to England from 1997 to 2009, as actual expenditure (rather than awards made) on sports related projects, is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial  y ear  BIG amount distributed  England  (£) 
			 2001-02 11,400 
			 2002-03 4,500,970 
			 2003-04 23,957,471 
			 2004-05 60,862,060 
			 2005-06 197,754,894 
			 2006-07 175,423,208 
			 2007-08 100,153,903 
			 2008-09 88,631,818 
			 Total 651,295,724

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Discipline

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to help teachers maintain discipline in schools.

Vernon Coaker: This Government have given teachers a range of powers to tackle poor behaviour including, for the first time, a clear statutory power to discipline pupils. We have also provided support, guidance and consultancy to schools on behaviour improvement. Our behaviour challenge launched last September, sets out a series of actions to drive behaviour standards higher-enabling all schools to be not simply satisfactory in their behaviour standards but good or outstanding.

Free School Meals

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent assessment he has made of the level of educational attainment of pupils eligible to receive free school meals; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Long term trends show that the achievement of pupils eligible for free school meals is rising, and that gaps in attainment between those pupils and their more affluent peers are narrowing. To give just one example, between 2002 and 2009, the percentage of free school meals pupils achieving the equivalent of five or more good GCSEs rose by 25.9 percentage points (from 23 per cent. to 48.9 per cent.), in comparison with a 19.1 percentage point rise for non-free school meals pupils.

UK Council for Child Internet Safety

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made in establishing the UK Council for Child Internet Safety; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The UK Council for Child Internet Safety was established on 29 September 2008 and now has over 160 members from Government, law enforcement, the third sector and industry.
	In December last year, UKCCIS launched its first child internet safety strategy 'Click Clever, Click Safe'. We believe this is the first such strategy of its kind anywhere in the world and represents a real step forward in the development of work to keep children safe online.

Secondary Schools: Halton

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent assessment he has made of the performance of secondary schools in Halton and the north-west.

Vernon Coaker: Between 1998 and 2008 the percentage of pupils in Halton achieving five good GCSEs, including English and maths, increased from 24.7 per cent. to 49.2 per cent. making it the sixth most improved local authority nationally over that period. Over the same period the results for the north west region, on the same measure, improved from 32.9 per cent. to 47.4 per cent. The authority's results dipped in 2009 and we are working closely with them through the National Challenge programme to provide additional support to those schools that need it.

Academies

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his latest assessment is of progress on the Academies programme; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: There are now 203 academies open in 83 local authorities with up to a further 100 opening in 2010. Evidence from independent reports by PricewaterhouseCoopers; Ofsted and the National Audit Office show academies are working. For academies with results in 2008 and 2009 the increase in the proportion of pupils achieving at least five A*-C GCSEs including English and maths is 5.0 percentage points, an increase on last year's academy improvement rate of 4.3 percentage points and double the average national increase.

Building Schools for the Future

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made on the Building Schools for the Future programme in Stoke-on-Trent.

Vernon Coaker: Stoke-on-Trent is in wave 1 of the Building Schools for the Future programme.
	The framework contract for construction agents is in place and OBC approval is imminent. The authority expects work to start on the first school in September 2010.
	Funding levels for all schools and academies, together with feasibility designs have been approved.

Catch-up Support

Andrew Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans he has for the future provision of catch-up support for children in literacy and numeracy.

Diana Johnson: The Government's commitment to the future provision of catch-up support in literacy and numeracy is encapsulated in the Pupil Guarantees, which set out entitlements to support for children who are not making good progress in Mathematics or English at key stages 1, 2 and 3. The guarantees are underpinned by programmes including Every Child a Reader, Every Child a Writer and Every Child Counts, in addition to the one-to-one tuition programme and secondary programmes such as Literacy Plus and Study Plus.

Bullying

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent estimate he has made of the number of children subject to bullying in schools; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The annual TellUs survey provides information on this. According to TellUs 4 (2009), 46 per cent. say they have been bullied in school, of these 53 per cent. were bullied in the last year. There was a 24 percentage point improvement on the number of young people who felt their school dealt effectively with bullying.
	Overall, 28.8 per cent. of young people surveyed said they had been bullied at some time during the last year, either in or out of school.

NEETs

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans he has to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training.

Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he plans to take to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training; and if he will make a statement.

Iain Wright: We published Investing in Potential in December 2009 setting out the decisive steps we are taking to reduce the proportion of young people who are not in education, employment or training. Through our September and January Guarantees, we are offering 16 and 17-year-olds a place in learning. The Young Person's Guarantee will ensure that 18 to 24-year-olds still unemployed after six months will be guaranteed access to a job, training or work experience.

Education: Charities

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether any additional changes to arrangements for registration of educational charities have been agreed with the Charity Commission since the publication of the protocol on academies in 2009.

Vernon Coaker: There have been no changes on the registration of educational charities since the publication of the protocol on academies in 2009. Officials are in discussions with the Charity Commission on the ways in which academy trusts can be better supported through the process of registration as charities. The Secretary of State has agreed in principle to become the principal regulator for voluntary and foundation schools, subject to agreement on the details of the associated responsibilities.

GCSE: Poole

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils resident in the Poole unitary authority area sat a GCSE in  (a) history,  (b) physics,  (c) chemistry and  (d) biology in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2009.

Vernon Coaker: Information about whether a pupil has entered GCSEs in history, physics, chemistry and biology has only been available on the National Pupil Database since the 2003/04 academic year.
	
		
			  Students( 1, 2)  resident( 3)  in Poole unitary authority entered for GCSEs in (a) history, (b) physics, (c) chemistry and (d) biology in 2003/04 and 2008/09 
			  Poole unitary authority  2003/04  2008/09 
			  Number of students( 1, 2)  entered for   
			 History GCSE 464 481 
			 Physics GCSE 224 328 
			 Chemistry GCSE 221 328 
			 Biology GCSE 223 336 
			 (1 )Data for 2003/04 is based on pupils aged 15 on 31 August 2003 and data for 2008/09 is based on pupils at the end of key stage 4. (2 )Students attending maintained schools only, including city technology colleges and academies (3 )Based on students with a valid postcode in that academic year.  Source:  National Pupil Database (2003/04 final data, 2008/09 amended data).

National Curriculum Tests

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of children achieved at least level 2 in each subject at Key Stage 1 in each year since the introduction of such assessments.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 22 February 2010
	The information requested is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Reading: Key Stage 1:  Task/test and teacher assessment results, percentage of students who achieved at or at or above the given level 
			   Level 2  Level 2B( 3)  Level 3 
			 1995 78 - 33 
			 1996 78 - 30 
			 1997 80 - 26 
			 1998 80 62 26 
			 1999 82 66 29 
			 2000 83 68 28 
			 2001 84 69 29 
			 2002 84 69 30 
			 2003 84 69 28 
			 2004(2) 85 71 29 
			 2005 85 72 27 
			 2006 84 71 26 
			 2007 84 71 26 
			 2008 84 71 25 
			 2009(4) 84 72 26 
		
	
	
		
			  Reading: Key Stage 1 :  Task/test and teacher assessment results, number of students who achieved at or at or above the given level 
			   Level 2  Level 2B( 3)  Level 3 
			 1995 466,500 - 199,600 
			 1996 464,600 - 176,600 
			 1997 489,500 - 160,300 
			 1998 500,800 389,000 163,600 
			 1999 513,000 412,000 184,300 
			 2000 504,600 409,200 168,900 
			 2001 505,700 413,600 174,400 
			 2002 495,700 405,000 177,200 
			 2003 487,900 401,300 162,200 
			 2004(2) 499,100 415,700 168,000 
			 2005 484,800 411,500 153,500 
			 2006 474,500 400,600 143,900 
			 2007 458,300 388,900 141,300 
			 2008 450,600 382,800 135,900 
			 2009(4) 449,900 383,400 138,200 
		
	
	
		
			  Writing: Key Stage 1 :  Task/test and teacher assessment results, percentage of students who achieved at or at or above the given level 
			   Level 2  Level 2B( 3)  Level 3 
			 1995 80 - 15 
			 1996(1) 79 - 6 
			 1997 80 - 6 
			 1998 81 48 7 
			 1999 83 53 8 
			 2000 84 57 9 
			 2001 86 59 9 
			 2002 86 60 9 
			 2003 81 62 16 
			 2004(2) 82 62 16 
			 2005 82 62 15 
			 2006 81 60 14 
			 2007 80 59 13 
			 2008 80 58 12 
			 2009(4) 81 60 12 
		
	
	
		
			  Writing: Key Stage 1 :  Task/test and teacher assessment results, number  of students who achieved at or at or above the given level 
			   Level 2  Level 2B( 3)  Level 3 
			 1995 477,300 - 88,200 
			 1996(1) 474,600 - 36,700 
			 1997 490,200 - 36,900 
			 1998 507,800 304,000 45,200 
			 1999 519,600 335,400 51,000 
			 2000 511,000 341,900 53,400 
			 2001 515,800 353,100 57,100 
			 2002 506,100 351,200 55,800 
			 2003 471,000 358,700 93,400 
			 2004(2) 480,900 362,900 93,500 
			 2005 469,200 351,100 85,800 
			 2006 457,300 339,100 78,300 
			 2007 439,300 321,500 69,000 
			 2008 429,800 314,000 65,300 
			 2009(4) 431,100 318,100 65,900 
		
	
	
		
			  Mathematics: Key Stage 1 :  Task/test and teacher assessment results, percentage  of students who achieved at or at or above the given level 
			   Level 2  Level 2B( 3)  Level 3 
			 1995 79 - 19 
			 1996 82 - 19 
			 1997 84 - 20 
			 1998 84 61 19 
			 1999 87 64 21 
			 2000 90 73 25 
			 2001 91 75 28 
			 2002 90 76 31 
			 2003 90 73 29 
			 2004(2) 90 75 28 
			 2005 91 74 23 
			 2006 90 73 21 
			 2007 90 74 22 
			 2008 90 74 21 
			 2009(4) 89 74 21 
		
	
	
		
			  Mathematics: Key Stage 1 :  Task/test and teacher assessment results, number of students who achieved at or at or above the given level 
			   Level 2  Level 2B( 3)  Level 3 
			 1995 470,700 - 116,200 
			 1996 491,500 - 114,300 
			 1997 512,700 - 124,400 
			 1998 529,000 382,500 118,400 
			 1999 544,000 399,000 134,000 
			 2000 542,900 440,800 153,000 
			 2001 546,100 454,300 166,700 
			 2002 531,900 445,100 184,200 
			 2003 523,300 426,000 169,400 
			 2004(2) 531,500 443,600 165,700 
			 2005 518,000 421,900 130,400 
			 2006 507,300 410,600 120,400 
			 2007 491,800 404,200 120,500 
			 2008 481,500 395,600 114,400 
			 2009(4) 476,900 392,400 112,700 
		
	
	
		
			  Sciences: Key Stage 1 :  Task/test and teacher assessment results, percentage of students who achieved at or at or above the given level 
			   Level 2  Level 2B( 3)  Level 3 
			 2005 90 - 25 
			 2006 89 - 24 
			 2007 89 - 23 
			 2008 89 - 22 
			 2009(4) 89 - 22 
		
	
	
		
			  Science: Key Stage 1 :  Task/test and teacher assessment results, number of students who achieved at or at or above the given level 
			   Level 2  Level 2B( 3)  Level 3 
			 2005 510,500 - 142,400 
			 2006 501,400 - 133,000 
			 2007 486,100 - 125,200 
			 2008 476,300 - 118,800 
			 2009(4) 473,800 - 116,700 
			 (1) The assessment of writing changed in 1996 and is not comparable to earlier years (2) Figures prior to 2004 are based on task/test assessments. Figures for 2004 are based on a combination of task/test assessment in non-pilot schools and new post-2004 teacher assessment arrangements in pilot schools. Figures for 2005 onward are based on post-2004 teacher assessment arrangements. There were no test/task reporting arrangements for science, therefore data prior to 2005 are not available. Figures from 2004 onwards are not directly comparable with those prior to 2004, and care is needed in interpreting trends in the data. (3) Prior to 1998 data on sub-levels are not available. Science data is not reported at sub-level therefore figures for 2B are not available. (4) All figures are based on final data, with the exception of 2009 which is based on provisional data.  Notes: Numbers are rounded to nearest 100. Percentages are rounded to nearest percentage point.

Pearson Group

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what discussions on what topics he has had with senior personnel at Pearson in the last 12 months.

Iain Wright: The Secretary of State and other Ministers have had a number of meetings with senior personnel from Pearson, including its subsidiary Edexcel, over the last 12 months. These meetings covered a range of topics including the establishment of Ofqual, Diplomas and other 14 to 19 qualifications issues.

Personal Social and Health Education

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what plans he has to provide specialist teacher training to  (a) teachers and  (b) trainee teachers to deliver sex and relationships education within the personal, health, social and economic curriculum;
	(2)  how many teachers he expects to be trained to teach sex and relationships education under the personal, social, health and economic education provisions proposed in the Children, Schools and Families Bill.

Vernon Coaker: The majority of schools have been teaching Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHEE)-which includes Sex and Relationships Education (SRE)-as a non-statutory subject for many years, through a mix of specialist PSHEE teachers, as well as form tutors.
	In general, budgets for teachers' continuing professional development (CPD) are devolved to individual schools and no central records are kept on how much of this money is spent on CPD for individual subjects. However, in recognition of the sensitive and varied topics covered in PSHEE, additional central funding for a national CPD programme has been available to schools for a number of years. This has resulted in around 8,000 teachers having been trained and a further 1,800 are currently in training this year.
	When PSHEE becomes compulsory in the national curriculum from September 2011, we would expect most of the teaching to continue to come from existing teachers who will receive supplementary training, either through the national programme identified above, or from locally sourced training paid for from school's local budgets
	However, in recognition that PSHEE will be compulsory from September 2011, we are working with the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA), to develop a route through initial teacher training (ITT) to become a specialist PSHEE teacher. From September 2010, we anticipate that 200 trainee teachers a year will be trained to deliver PSHEE as an enhancement to their main subject area.
	To enhance PSHEE coverage in all ITT, we are changing the guidance so that providers of ITT will need to ensure that all of their trainees are familiar with the National Curriculum guidance on PSHEE that is relevant to the age ranges they will teach.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much has been spent per pupil  (a) in each local authority area in the East Midlands and  (b) on average in England since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 25 February 2010
	 The available information on how much has been spent per pupil in East Midlands and in England since 1997 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  School based expenditure per pupil in East Midlands Government office region from 1997-98 to 2007-08 
			England  Derbyshire  Derby  Leicestershire  Leicester City  Rutland 
			 1997-98 Pre-Primary and Primary Education 1,740 1,580 1,670 1,660 1,740 1,890 
			  Secondary Education 2,360 2,300 2,550 2,290 2,320 0 
			  Special Schools 9,830 10,290 8,890 12,760 9,680 0 
			  Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,080 1,900 2,000 1,990 2,080 1,900 
			 1998-99 Pre-Primary and Primary Education 1,870 1,730 1,850 1,810 1,910 2,130 
			  Secondary Education 2,450 2,370 2,680 2,400 2,540 0 
			  Special Schools 10,110 10,450 8,980 13,270 10,570 0 
			  Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,190 2,020 2,160 2,130 2,280 2,120 
			 
			 1999-2000 Primary Education 2,010 1,820 1,940 1,930 2,130 2,160 
			  Pre-Primary and Primary Education 2,050 1,840 1,990 2,000 2,150 2,190 
			  Secondary Education 2,610 2,430 2,690 2,500 2,920 2,680 
			  Special Schools 10,900 11,760 9,430 11,490 9,120 11,960 
			  Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,390 2,150 2,340 2,280 2,560 2,450 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 2,370 2,140 2,320 2,240 2,550 2,430 
			 2000-01 Primary Education 2,210 2,020 2,170 2,080 2,390 2,260 
			  Pre-Primary and Primary Education 2,280 2,040 2,330 2,160 2,460 2,320 
			  Secondary Education 2,830 2,590 2,910 2,720 3,230 2,920 
			  Special Schools 11,860 12,460 10,170 11,550 12,340 14,890 
			  Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,620 2,340 2,650 2,460 2,920 2,650 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 2,590 2,330 2,550 2,420 2,870 2,620 
			 2001-02 Primary Education 2,480 2,250 2,610 2,260 2,640 2,570 
			  Pre-Primary and Primary Education 2,570 2,290 2,840 2,420 2,730 2,680 
			  Secondary Education 3,150 2,870 3,310 2,970 3,560 3,130 
			  Special Schools 13,030 13,210 11,540 12,140 16,810 16,820 
			  Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,940 2,610 3,120 2,730 3,280 2,950 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 2,900 2,590 2,990 2,640 3,220 2,890 
			 
			 2002-03 Primary Education 2,530 2,350 2,430 2,190 2,520 2,540 
			  Secondary Education 3,230 3,000 3,180 2,930 3,380 3,100 
			  Special Schools 12,820 13,360 11,340 12,640 15,870 18,840 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 2,950 2,700 2,840 2,600 3,070 2,870 
			 2003-04 Primary Education 2,750 2,480 2,730 2,420 2,760 2,840 
			  Secondary Education 3,550 3,270 3,520 3,270 3,680 3,500 
			  Special Schools 14,050 14,050 12,990 13,950 14,760 21,700 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 3,230 2,910 3,140 2,890 3,320 3,230 
			 2004-05 Primary Education 2,910 2,630 2,940 2,580 2,990 2,950 
			  Secondary Education 3,800 3,480 3,810 3,440 3,960 3,650 
			  Special Schools 15,110 14,830 15,310 15,620 15,280 25,140 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 3,450 3,100 3,460 3,070 3,570 3,370 
			 2005-06 Primary Education 3,150 2,900 3,190 2,860 3,210 3,130 
			  Secondary Education 4,070 3,750 4,030 3,630 4,260 3,850 
			  Special Schools 16,430 17,420 17,550 16,390 16,220 25,570 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 3,720 3,380 3,710 3,320 3,830 3,570 
			 2006-07 Primary Education 3,360 3,150 3,420 3,010 3,410 3,370 
			  Secondary Education 4,320 4,030 4,270 3,890 4,600 4,120 
			  Special Schools 17,480 18,930 18,840 17,460 18,160 29,960 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 3,950 3,660 3,930 3,540 4,110 3,840 
			 2007-08 Primary Education 3,580 3,340 3,590 3,220 3,820 3,530 
			  Secondary Education 4,620 4,320 4,590 4,140 4,920 4,370 
			  Special Schools 18,650 20,900 22,700 18,370 20,270 34,230 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 4,210 3,900 4,200 3,780 4,500 4,040 
			 2008-09 Primary Education 3,780 3,450 3,810 3,430 3,750 3,600 
			  Secondary Education 4,890 4,580 4,690 4,460 5,160 4,390 
			  Special Schools 19,790 20,750 25,650 17,840 18,910 47,110 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 4,460 4,080 4,410 4,040 4,550 4,080 
		
	
	
		
			Pre LGR Nottinghamshire  Nottinghamshire  City of Nottingham  Lincolnshire  Northamptonshire 
			 1997-98 Pre-Primary and Primary Education 1,720 - - 1,680 1,580 
			  Secondary Education 2,380 - - 2,510 2,250 
			  Special Schools 13,290 - - 9,230 8,140 
			  Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,070 - - 2,070 1,930 
			 1998-99 Pre-Primary and Primary Education - 1,810 1,950 1,740 1,720 
			  Secondary Education - 2,390 2,580 2,500 2,360 
			  Special Schools - 13,530 12,330 9,500 8,310 
			  Total (including Pre-Primary) - 2,130 2,250 2,110 2,060 
			
			 1999-2000 Primary Education - 2,010 2,090 1,870 1,910 
			  Pre-Primary and Primary Education - 2,030 2,120 1,870 1,930 
			  Secondary Education - 2,540 2,760 2,540 2,540 
			  Special Schools - 13,520 13,890 10,320 9,940 
			  Total (including Pre-Primary) - 2,330 2,460 2,250 2,290 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) - 2,320 2,440 2,250 2,280 
			 2000-01 Primary Education - 2,220 2,260 1,990 2,160 
			  Pre-Primary  Primary Education - 2,240 2,310 2,000 2,180 
			  Secondary Education - 2,710 3,040 2,690 2,790 
			  Special Schools - 13,340 13,600 10,970 10,910 
			  Total (including Pre-Primary) - 2,520 2,680 2,400 2,560 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) - 2,510 2,650 2,400 2,540 
			 2001-02 Primary Education - 2,410 2,800 2,070 2,340 
			  Pre-Primary  Primary Education - 2,430 2,860 2,090 2,390 
			  Secondary Education - 2,970 3,640 2,850 2,940 
			  Special Schools - 14,420 15,900 11,930 10,990 
			  Total (including Pre-Primary) - 2,750 3,260 2,540 2,740 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) - 2,740 3,230 2,530 2,710 
			
			 2002-03 Primary Education - 2,500 2,930 2,260 2,280 
			  Secondary Education - 3,030 3,720 3,070 2,900 
			  Special Schools - 13,770 16,300 12,260 10,730 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) - 2,810 3,350 2,740 2,660 
			 2003-04 Primary Education - 2,740 3,260 2,450 2,600 
			  Secondary Education - 3,340 4,180 3,380 3,370 
			  Special Schools - 16,040 16,500 13,510 12,730 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) - 3,100 3,720 3,000 3,040 
			 2004-05 Primary Education - 2,900 3,410 2,600 2,720 
			  Secondary Education - 3,590 4,430 3,620 3,700 
			  Special Schools - 17,180 17,550 14,150 13,620 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) - 3,320 3,940 3,220 3,270 
			 2005-06 Primary Education - 3,150 3,720 2,820 2,880 
			  Secondary Education - 3,890 4,710 3,870 3,840 
			  Special Schools - 18,450 18,050 15,380 15,000 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) - 3,600 4,250 3,480 3,430 
			 2006-07 Primary Education - 3,240 3,910 3,050 3,020 
			  Secondary Education - 4,080 4,890 4,140 4,110 
			  Special Schools - 19,690 19,250 16,560 15,680 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) - 3,740 4,430 3,750 3,630 
			 2007-08 Primary Education - 3,430 4,030 3,280 3,230 
			  Secondary Education - 4,400 5,270 4,420 4,400 
			  Special Schools - 20,940 20,980 17,530 17,160 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) - 4,000 4,660 4,020 3,890 
			 2008-09 Primary Education - 3,690 4,230 3,430 3,320 
			  Secondary Education - 4,710 5,700 4,720 4,520 
			  Special Schools - 22,760 21,520 18,380 17,740 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) - 4,290 4,940 4,250 4,000 
			  Notes: 1. The financial information used in the answer to this PQ is taken from the Department's s52 data collection.  2. 1999-2000 saw a change in data source when the data collection moved from the RO1 form collected by CLG to the Section 52 form from the DCSF. 2002-03 saw a further break in the time series following the introduction of Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) and the associated restructuring of the outturn tables. The change in sources is shown by the blank rows. 3. Pupil numbers include only those pupils attending maintained establishments within each sector and are drawn from the DCSF Annual Schools Census adjusted to be on a financial year basis. 4. Local government reorganisation (LGR) took place during the mid to late 1990s.  5. Expenditure was not distinguished between the pre-primary and primary sectors until the inception of Section 52 for financial year 1999-2000. 6. School based expenditure in LA maintained nursery schools was not recorded in 2002-03 and comparable figures are not available for 2003-04 onwards. 7. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. Cash terms figures as reported by local authorities as at 22 February 2010.

Schools: Northampton

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much per head was spent on education for  (a) primary school children and  (b) secondary school children in Northampton in (i) 1997, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 2009.

Vernon Coaker: Figures are not available for the parliamentary constituency of Northampton, North as data are collected at a local authority level. The available information on how much was spent per head in Northamptonshire local authority is shown in the following table. The Department is due to collect the section 251 outturn data relating to the 2009-10 financial year later this year.
	
		
			  School based expenditure per pupil in Northamptonshire local authority for 1997-98, 2001-02 and 2008-09 
			   1997-98  2001-02  2008-09 
			   Pre-primary   primary education  Secondary education  Primary education  Pre-primary   primary education  Secondary education  Primary education  Secondary education 
			 England 1,740 2,360 2,480 2,570 3,150 3,780 4,890 
			 Northamptonshire 1,580 2,250 2,340 2,390 2,940 3,320 4,520 
			  Notes:  1. The financial information used in the answer to this PQ is taken from the Department's s52 data collection.  2. 1999-2000 saw a change in data source when the data collection moved from the RO1 form collected by the CLG to the Section 52 form from the DCSF. 2002-03 saw a further break in the time series following the introduction of consistent financial reporting (CFR) and the associated restructuring of the outturn tables.  3. Pupil numbers include only those pupils attending maintained establishments within each sector and are drawn from the DCSF annual schools census adjusted to be on a financial year basis.  4. Expenditure was not distinguished between the pre-primary and primary sectors until the inception of Section 52 (now section 251) for financial year 1999-2000.  5. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. Cash terms figures as reported by local authorities as at 5 March 2010.

CABINET OFFICE

Children: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many children of school age there have been in  (a) Essex and  (b) Southend in each year since 1997.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many children of school age there have been in (a) Essex and (b) Southend in each year since 1997 (320603).
	The attached table shows the number of children aged 5-16 inclusive, calculated for each mid-year from 1997 to 2008, which are the latest population estimates available.
	
		
			  Number of school age children( 1)  in Essex and Southend in each year since 1997 
			   Essex  Southend on Sea 
			 1997 193,800 24,100 
			 1998 194,000 24,300 
			 1999 197,500 24,400 
			 2000 199,500 24,300 
			 2001 200,900 24,400 
			 2002 202,100 24,400 
			 2003 203,400 24,300 
			 2004 203,700 24,000 
			 2005 203,400 23,800 
			 2006 202,400 23,400 
			 2007 201,400 23,100 
			 2008 200,100 23,000 
			 (1) Ages five to 16 inclusive.  Source: Office for National Statistics

Communications Electronic Security Group

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2010,  Official Report, column 825W, on Communications Electronic Security Group, for what reason the group has not published an annual report since 2006; and whether Ministers approved the decision not to publish an annual report.

Chris Bryant: I have been asked to reply.
	As an efficiency measure, Communications Electronic Security Group (CESG) have not published an annual report since 2006. There is no statutory requirement for CESG to produce such reports, therefore ministerial approval was not required.

Departmental Recruitment

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much  (a) her Department,  (b) the Charity Commission and  (c) the Central Office of Information spent on external recruitment consultants in the last year for which figures are available.

Tessa Jowell: No expenditure was incurred in Cabinet Office. I have asked the chief executives of the Central Office of Information (COI) and the Charity Commission to write to the hon. Member.
	 Letter from Andrew Hind, dated 5 March 2010:
	As the Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, I have been asked to respond to your written Parliamentary Question (315210) on how much the Charity Commission spent on external recruitment consultants in the last year for which figures are available.
	In the financial year 2008/09, the Charity Commission spent £445,380 on recruitment broken down as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Reed Staffing Services Ltd 11,750 
			 Hays Accountancy Personnel 11,809 
			 Hudson Global Resources Ltd 4,113 
			 Recruitactive 14,138 
			 Red Snapper Recruitment 43,689 
			 Badenoch and Clark 12,013 
			 Artis Recruitment Ltd 14,603 
			 Shi Group Ltd 9,246 
			 TMP(UK) Limited 126,862 
			 Bernard Hodes Group 197,157 
			 Total 445,380 
		
	
	Within the time available, it has not been possible to produce a straightforward correlation between exact posts and expenditure.
	In 2008/09, we undertook a number of major recruitment campaigns. These were related to filling posts resulting from decisions to strengthen our compliance function and to make strategic changes in our organisational structure as a result of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review. Many of the posts had specialist requirements and consultants were engaged to help us source the candidates with the right skills and experience.
	The majority of expenditure with TMP (UK) Limited and Bernard Hodes Group relates to advertising space in the media: the agencies contract directly with the press for placing job advertisements and then the Commission reimburses the agencies for the costs they incurred. Only a small proportion of the expenditure, therefore, will be the agencies' fee. A complete analysis of the split between agency fees and the cost of job advertisements is not readily available.
	A further aspect of the expenditure with the Bernard Hodes Group was investment in a dedicated careers website, which has enabled the Commission to reduce its recruitment budget for 2009/10 to £200,000. The Commission forecast for the current financial year shows that it expects expenditure on recruitment to remain within that budget.
	I hope this is helpful.
	 Letter from Mark Lund, dated 4 February 2010:
	asking for the total spent on external recruitment consultants in the last year for which figures are available.
	The Central Office of Information spent £49,995 on external recruitment consultants for the financial year 2008/9.

Government Departments: Publicity

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what unsolicited Government publications have been mailed directly to households in England in the last six months; at what cost in each case; and what such mailings are planned between now and June 2010.

Tessa Jowell: This information is not collected centrally. Each Government Department, agency and NDPB is responsible for setting its own communications priorities and outputs, and each Secretary of State is responsible to Parliament.

Sleeping Rough: Statistics

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent discussions the Office for National Statistics has had with the Department for Communities and Local Government on that Department's methodology for counting rough sleepers.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what recent discussions the ONS has had with the Department for Communities and Local Government on that Department's methodology for counting rough sleepers. (319637)
	As part of the planning of the field operation for the 2011 Census, ONS officials have been in contact with the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to discuss the counting of rough sleepers, and in September 2008, were invited to observe a count of rough sleepers in Westminster. However there have not been recent discussions.
	Local authorities are required to conduct their own annual counts if they have more than ten rough sleepers, and so we have been in touch with local authorities to learn how they carry out their counts to see whether any successful procedures used by them could be used or modified for the 2011 Census. We are also planning to liaise directly with local authorities for information about particular sites where rough sleepers might be found, as well as to obtain information on any local homeless charities. We have had a useful meeting with Homeless Link which represents and supports a number of organisations working with the homeless and are planning to meet them again.

Young People: Southend on Sea

David Amess: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people aged 17 years and under were resident in Southend in each year since 1995.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people aged 17 years and under were resident in Southend in each year since 1995 (320602).
	The attached table shows the number people aged 17 and under, calculated for each mid-year from 1995 to 2008, which are the latest population estimates available.
	
		
			  Number of people aged 17 and under in Southend, in each year since 1995 
			  Southend on Sea  Thousand 
			 1995 35,900 
			 1996 36,100 
			 1997 36,700 
			 1998 36,500 
			 1999 36,500 
			 2000 36,200 
			 2001 36,000 
			 2002 36,000 
			 2003 35,600 
			 2004 35,300 
			 2005 35,000 
			 2006 34,800 
			 2007 35,100 
			 2008 35,300 
			  Source: Office for National Statistics

HEALTH

Abortion

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 29 October 2009,  Official Report, column 577W, on abortion, how many repeat abortions women aged  (a) under 20,  (b) 20 to 24,  (c) 25 to 29,  (d) 30 to 34 and  (e) 35 years old and over had in (i) each primary care trust area and (ii) England in each of the last 10 years.

Gillian Merron: The information requested is not readily available. However, as soon as this information can be produced, a copy will be placed in the Library.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Crimes of Violence

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many recorded incidents of assaults against NHS accident and emergency staff where alcohol or drug use was thought to be a significant contributing factor, and where the offender was aged 16 years old or under, took place in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many recorded incidents of assaults against NHS accident and emergency staff, where alcohol or drug use was thought to be a significant contributing factor, took place in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on the number of reported physical assaults against national health service staff in England is contained in the 'Tables Showing Number of Reported Physical Assaults on NHS Staff from 2004-05 to 2007-08, Broken Down by NHS trust/PCT' and 'Tables Showing Number of Reported Physical Assaults on NHS Staff in 2008-09, Broken Down by NHS trust/PCT' which have already been placed in the Library.
	The NHS Security Management Service (SMS) can assist employers through guidance on assessing risks and acting to protect staff from assaults and, where incidents do occur, on taking action against offenders. The NHS SMS also works with stakeholders, including the Social Partnership Forum, to promote the safety and security of NHS staff.

Blood: Contamination

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the cost of compensation to people who have contracted  (a) HIV,  (b) hepatitis C and  (c) other infections from NHS-supplied contaminated blood.

Gillian Merron: The Government currently make ex-gratia payments to those infected with HIV by contaminated national health service blood and blood products through the Macfarlane and Eileen Trusts (in 2010-11 the two Trusts became MFET Ltd), and to those infected with hepatitis-C by contaminated NHS blood and blood products through the Skipton Fund. Based on expenditure in 2009-10, it is estimated that £5.13 million will be made available for non-discretionary payments through MFET Ltd, and £2.47 million will be made available for discretionary payments through MFET Ltd in 2010-11. It is estimated that £5 million will be made available for payments through the Skipton Fund, in 2010-11. To date, nearly £150 million has been paid out through these mechanisms.
	Compensation to all those infected with variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (vCJD), including those who are thought to have been infected by contaminated blood transfusions, is provided through the vCJD Trust. The size of the Trust fund has been fixed at £67.5 million to compensate the first 250 patients and their families. Up to 5 April 2009, the vCJD trust has disbursed approximately £38 million.

Cancer: Nurses

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2010,  Official Report, 
	(1)  column 755W, on cancer: nurses, how many specialist cancer nurses there are; and how many new posts will be funded from the £20 million expenditure in 2011-12;
	(2)  column 743W, on cancer: nurses, how long he estimates it will take to provide training to the additional workforce.

Ann Keen: There are about 2,300 specialist cancer nurses at present. We are investing £20 million in 2011-12 to work with Macmillan to introduce more specialist cancer nurse posts. In terms of the number of new posts this will fund, we will be looking at possible new models of care, which will have an impact on the number of new nurses needed, but we are likely to need a significant increase in the specialist cancer nurse workforce.
	Our plan is to build up the service over a five-year period and our detailed workforce assessment will include reviewing the current provision of training against the differing models and levels of support identified by our work. We will then be able to identify gaps in current provision and work towards appropriate solutions.

Cancer: Palliative Care

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the progress report on the implementation of National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance on Improving Supportive and Palliative Care for Adults with Cancer to be published.

Ann Keen: An evaluation to assess whether full implementation of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's Improving Supportive and Palliative Care for Adults guidance has been achieved is under way.
	The Cancer Networks have returned their self-assessment information, and there will now be a series of face-to-face interviews with the network nurse directors and strategic health authority cancer leads.
	We expect the report to be published by the end of June 2010.

Dementia

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the ratio is of patients on the Quality Outcomes Framework registers to the expected numbers of people with dementia as set out in EuroDem statistics in each region; and what change there has been in that ratio since the publication of the National Dementia Strategy.

Phil Hope: This information is not available as EuroDem data are not produced or commissioned by the Department.

Dental Services

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what percentage of the population in each strategic health authority (SHA) area had access to NHS dental services  (a) immediately before the introduction of the 2006 dental contract and  (b) at the latest date for which information is available; and what percentage of the population in each SHA area will need to be able to access NHS dentistry in March 2011 in order for primary care trusts to fulfil their duty placed upon them to provide access to all who seek it;
	(2)  what his Department's latest estimate is of the level of unmet demand for NHS dental services in each strategic health authority area;
	(3)  what steps his Department is taking to assist primary care trusts to measure levels of unmet demand for NHS dental services;
	(4)  what discussions he has had with NHS managers and health professionals on progress in fulfilling the duty placed upon primary care trusts to provide access to NHS dental services for all who seek it;
	(5)  how many primary care trusts  (a) have conducted a baseline mapping exercise and  (b) have formulated a delivery plan to deliver access to NHS dental services for all who require it by 2011.

Ann Keen: The proportion of the population registered with a national health service dentist in England, as at 31 March, 1997 to 2006 is available in Annex B of the NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report, England: 31 March 2006. Information is provided by primary care trust (PCT) and by strategic health authority (SHA) where appropriate.
	This information is based on the old contractual arrangements which were in place up to and including 31 March 2006. This report, published on 23 August 2006, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dwfactivity
	Under the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, patients do not have to be registered with an NHS dentist to receive NHS care. The closest equivalent measure to registration is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services (patients seen) over a 24-month period. However, this is not directly comparable to the registration data for earlier years.
	Information on the number of patients seen in the previous 24 months as a percentage of the population, in England, is available in Table D2 of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics, Quarter 2: 30 September 2009 report. Information is available at quarterly intervals, from 31 March 2006 to 31 December 2009, and is provided by PCT and SHA.
	This report, published on 23 February 2010, has been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0910q2
	The commitment to delivering access to NHS dental care for all who actively seek it by March 2011 was set by the NHS in January 2009. It is for each PCT to determine local levels of unmet demand and ensure that sufficient services are commissioned to ensure that they are able to meet the commitment. This commitment is reflected in the NHS Operating Framework.
	The Department's Performance Delivery Team have regular reviews with SHAs on progress against all the priorities, including the 2011 dental goal, set out in the NHS Operating Framework. The Dental Access Programme, set up to support the NHS in delivering the 2011 goal, works closely with PCTs to support them in commissioning and managing dental services most appropriately and effectively.
	All PCTs have estimated the number of people who would use NHS dental care if it was available and have delivery plans in place to ensure demand is met by, at the latest, March 2011. In the first quarter of 2010-11 the national GP Patient survey will include questions on whether individuals have sought NHS dental care and if so whether they were successful in getting an appointment. The results of the survey will be available later this summer to allow PCTs to refine their plans as necessary. They will be published in July.

Dental Services: Southend on Sea

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have registered with a dental surgeon in Southend in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The number of people registered with a national health service dentist in England, as at 31 March 1997 to 2006 is available in Annex A of the NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report, England: 31 March 2006. Information is provided by primary care trust (PCT) and by strategic health authority (SHA).
	This information is based on the old contractual arrangements which were in place up to and including 31 March 2006. This report, published on 23 August 2006, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dwfactivity.
	Under the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, patients do not have to be registered with an NHS dentist to receive NHS care. The closest equivalent measure to 'registration' is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services ('patients seen') over a 24 month period. However, this is not directly comparable to the registration data for earlier years.
	Information on the number of patients seen in the previous 24 months, in England, is available in Table D1 of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics, Quarter 2: 30 September 2009 report. Information is available at quarterly intervals, from 31 March 2006 to 31 December 2009 and is provided by PCT and SHA.
	This report, published on 23 February 2010, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0910q2.

Departmental Advertising

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent by his Department on advertising in weekly and regional newspapers in each of the last three years.

Phil Hope: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Expenditure on advertising in weekly and regional newspapers 2006-07 to 2008-09 
			  Financial year  Total spend (£) 
			 2006-07 779,200 
			 2007-08 847,327 
			 2008-09 991,686 
			  Source: Central Office of Information

Departmental Buildings

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on office refurbishments in each of the last 10 years.

Phil Hope: In each of the last 10 years the Department's expenditure on refurbishment has been:
	
		
			   £ 
			 1999-2000 1,453,483 
			 2000-01 1,652,456 
			 2001-02 550,000 
			 2002-03 788,000 
			 2003-04 1,113,565 
			 2004-05 963,974 
			 2005-06 5,033,305 
			 2006-07 3,520,407 
			 2007-08 2,628,819 
			 2008-09 627,404

Departmental Temporary Employment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health from which companies his Department sourced temporary staff in each of the last three years; how many temporary staff his Department employed in each year; and what the monetary value of the contracts with each such company was in each such year.

Phil Hope: The Department uses the services of a range of suppliers for its temporary workers, through a number of framework agreements. These frameworks include the following, from which the majority of temporary workers are sourced:
	 1. Buying Solutions Temporary Clerical and Administrative framework.
	This framework comprises the following companies: Brook Street (UK) Ltd., Hays Specialist Recruitment, Kelly Services (UK) Ltd., Office Angels Ltd., Reed Specialist Recruitment, Northern Recruitment Group and Employment Plus Ltd.
	 2. Buying Solutions Specialist Contractors (Project and Programme Management) framework.
	This framework comprises the following companies: Acumen Consortium (AMTEC), Badenoch and Clark Ltd., Elan Computing Ltd., Hays Information Technology, Hays Specialist Recruitment, LA International Computer Consultants Ltd., Methods Consulting, NES IT, NetworkersMSB, Parity, Reed Personnel Services plc, SmartSourcing plc and Technology Project Services.
	 3. Department of Health Clerical and Administrative Communications framework.
	This framework comprises the following companies: Badenoch and Clark, Hays, Morgan Hunt, Step Ahead, Stop Gap and Venn Group.
	 4. Department of Health Information Services Flexible Resource Pool framework.
	This framework comprises one company, Sapient Ltd.
	In 2008-09, the average number of whole-time equivalent temporary workers employed in the Department, comprising agency workers, contractors and consultants, was 215. Prior to 2008-09, temporary workers were not recorded on the Department's human resources system, therefore this information is not held centrally.
	To provide the monetary value of contracts with the suppliers of temporary workers in the last three years would incur disproportionate cost.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people aged  (a) under 18 and  (b) between 18 and 21 years old were prescribed (i) methadone, (ii) subutex and (iii) other synthetic opiates by health professionals in the latest period for which figures are available.

Gillian Merron: Data on numbers of under-18s and 18 to 21-year-olds prescribed methadone, buprenorphine and other synthetic opiates is not collected centrally.
	However there is data on the numbers of young people receiving specific treatment interventions for substance misuse, including pharmacological treatment.
	The latest national statistics on young people in drug treatment show that in 2008-09 there were the following numbers of under-18s receiving pharmacological interventions and combinations of this with other interventions.
	
		
			   Number 
			 Young people specialist pharmacological interventions only 36 
			 Psychosocial and pharmacological interventions only 113 
			 Psychosocial and family work and pharmacological interventions only 14 
			 Psychosocial and harm reduction and pharmacological interventions only 85 
			  Source: National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) 
		
	
	Pharmacological interventions are interventions which include prescribing for detoxification, stabilisation and symptomatic relief of substance misuse as well as prescribing of medications to prevent relapse. These would include methadone, buprenorphine and other synthetic opiates.
	In total, only 1 per cent. of under-18s in drug treatment are receiving pharmacological interventions.
	Data on adult treatment interventions does not record ages and so data for 18 to 21-year-olds is unavailable.

General Practitioners: Southend on Sea

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have registered with general practitioners in Southend in each year since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: Information is not held in the format requested. However, the following data shows the number of general practitioners (GP)-registered patients in South East Essex Primary Care Trust (PCT) from 2002 to 2008.
	
		
			  South East Essex PCT 
			   Number of GP-registered patients 
			 2002 348,369 
			 2003 350,132 
			 2004 352,536 
			 2005 352,449 
			 2006 348,056 
			 2007 351,720 
			 2008 349,740 
			  Notes:  1. South East Essex PCT was created on 1 October 2006 from a complete merger of Castle Point and Rochford PCT and Southend-on-Sea PCT.  2. Figures prior to 2006 are an aggregate of these predecessor organisations. It is impossible to map workforce figures for these organisations prior to the creation of the PCTs in 2002.  3. Figures provided show numbers of patients registered with a GP as at 30 September each year. Data on patient transactions or newly registered patients is not available on the annual GP census.  Source:  The NHS Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.

Health Services: Overseas Visitors

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of  (a) emergency and  (b) non-emergency treatment of people from (i) each EU member state, (ii) Jersey and (iii) the Isle of Man in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: Figures relating to the cost to the national health service of treating people from Jersey, the Isle of Man and Guernsey are not recorded centrally.
	Claims made by the UK for recovering the cost of treatment provided to people from other European Economic Area (EEA) countries are shown in the following table. The claims cannot be broken down by treatment type.
	
		
			  EEA medical costs: claims by UK against member states-actual claims submitted for claim years 2005 to 2009 
			  Claim against:  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 Austria 637,046 626,820 229,422 253,174 20,738 
			 Belgium 1,733,938 1,728,295 322,508 384,497 4,641 
			 Bulgaria - - 418 2,507 - 
			 Cyprus - - 382 4,515 - 
			 Czech Republic 2,424 6,685 7,520 9,780 103,278 
			 Finland - - 148 - 1,873 
			 France 3,442,555 4,476,592 2,436,334 2,468,923 - 
			 Germany 1,180,174 1,231,044 1,095,501 1,272,535 198,099 
			 Greece 594,325 52,286 123,989 681,455 1,008,298 
			 Hungary - - 10,658 8,219 37,558 
			 Iceland - - - 24,942 - 
			 Ireland 18,827,803 18,145,976 20,681,774 22,348,347 28,882,678 
			 Italy 4,831,422 4,928,362 147,251 708,649 1,005,645 
			 Lithuania - - - 1,880 - 
			 Luxembourg - - - 6,323 7,495 
			 Netherlands 2,670,533 1,126,454 6,691 41,428 19,024 
			 Norway 968 - - - - 
			 Poland 2,424 10,445 21,099 45,862 53,169 
			 Portugal 460,030 358,320 22,914 172,331 33,626 
			 Slovenia 45,790 183,600 - 5,991 61,434 
			 Spain 2,551,006 3,024,577 117,857 132,504 124,249 
			 Sweden 1,016,313 1,012,241 252,351 294,953 82,454 
			 Switzerland 62,204 70,608 56,194 53,478 - 
			  Notes: 1. Under European Union regulations claims relate to calendar years. 2. Due to the nature of the EU claims process member states (including the UK) may submit claims in arrears, often several years in arrears, and the settlement process for any one claim may extend over several years. Smaller supplementary claims may also be made, sometimes several years after main claims. Claims totals given are therefore a snapshot based on the current position, and are subject to change. 3. Totals for UK claims will include formula based claims for temporary visitor costs under bilateral arrangements which provide for reimbursement linked to tourist numbers. 4. UK claims under those bilateral arrangements for years 2007 and later have yet to be submitted. These will be submitted following the publication by the European Commission of the UK's average costs for those years, as data from those average costs are used in the calculation of claims. However, in some cases advance claim payments may be made under bilateral arrangements prior to the submission of the claim. Such advance claim payments will be reflected in the totals included in the table.

Health Services: Young People

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance his Department has provided on the implementation of the proposal in his Department's strategy for children and young people's health that all children with complex health needs should have an individual care plan by 2010; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what progress his Department has made on the implementation of the proposals in his Department's strategy for children and young people's health that all children with complex health needs should have an individual care plan by 2010; what estimate he has made of the number of children with complex health needs who have been given such a plan; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Guidance for commissioners on how to commission personalised care planning for adults and children with long-term conditions was issued in January 2009. The care planning commitment for children with complex needs was affirmed in 'Healthy Lives, Brighter Futures' which emphasises the need to ensure high quality, timely and accessible support and sets out a clear expectation that children's trust partners will provide children and families with accessible and comprehensive information about the services, advice and support available.
	Progress is being sustained through the Long Term Conditions programme which includes work to support and accelerate implementation of care planning; elements of which are a Primary Care Service Specification to support commissioners and to incentivise delivery in primary care, and a leaflet for families explaining the benefits of care planning. Assessing the demand and providing for individual care plans for children with complex conditions is for local decision based on local assessment of need.

Infant Mortality: Methadone

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many newborn baby deaths were related to the use of methadone by the mother in the latest period for which figures are available.

Gillian Merron: This data is not available in the format requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	However, the Department supports the national programme for substance abuse deaths (npSAD), currently run by the International Centre for Drug Policy at St. Georges, University of London. This programme collects and analyses data on drug related deaths in the United Kingdom, and can be found at the following website at:
	www.sgul.ac.uk/about-st-georges/divisions/faculty-of-medicine-and-biomedical-sciences/mental-health/icdp/our-work-programmes/national-programme-on-substance-abuse-deaths

Languages

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) Ministers and  (b) civil servants in his Department received coaching in a foreign language in the last 12 months; what expenditure his Department incurred in providing such coaching; and in what languages such coaching was provided.

Phil Hope: The Department does not hold a central record of the information requested. A survey to gather the necessary information from the Department's directorates would incur disproportionate cost.

NHS: Private Sector

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the NHS of an entitlement for a patient to be treated privately if not treated within 18 weeks in the first year of operation of such an entitlement.

Mike O'Brien: As detailed in the impact assessment
	www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_108091.pdf
	relating to the consultation on new patient rights, the proposals are largely cost neutral. If the proposed right is brought forward we would expect any alternative providers to provide services at the national health service tariff.
	A copy of the assessment has already been placed in the Library.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what timetable has been set for the publication of Professor Ian Gilmore's report on prescription charges for those with long-term conditions.

Mike O'Brien: Professor Gilmore has submitted his report on exempting people with long-term conditions from prescription charges to the Department. The recommendations are being considered, and we intend to publish our response shortly.

Primary Care Trusts

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts there were in 2005.

Mike O'Brien: There were 303 primary care trusts in 2005. This number reduced to 152 from 1 October 2006.

Private Finance Initiative

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department will have to provide to fund all existing private finance initiative and public-private partnership contracts in each of the next 10 years.

Mike O'Brien: There are many hundreds of contracts negotiated annually between national health service bodies and private sector suppliers for a full range of services and equipment that involve elements of public-private partnerships (PPPs).
	Information is collected centrally for the three major areas of PPP contracts-private finance initiative (PFI) schemes, local improvement finance trusts (LIFT) and independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs). The following table shows the unitary and lease payments for PFI and LIFT schemes respectively for the next 10 financial years in nominal terms (i.e. uprated annually for retail price index inflation of 2.5 per cent.; these are only approximate profiles as the LIFT payments are collected by calendar year not financial). From the information collected centrally it is not possible to express the ISTC payments on an annualised basis over the same period, but from a calculation of the total mean monthly payments, ISTC contract payments in 2010 will total approximately £469 million.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   PFI payments (by financial year  LIFT lease payments (by calendar year) 
			 2010-11 1,249 206 
			 2011-12 1,306 211 
			 2012-13 1,407 217 
			 2013-14 1,579 222 
			 2014-15 1,619 228 
			 2015-16 1,659 233 
			 2016-17 1,700 236 
			 2017-18 1,743 245 
			 2018-19 1,748 251 
			 2019-20 1,831 257 
		
	
	As total NHS planned resources for 2010-11 are £105.8 billion, PFI payments will represent approximately 1.2 per cent. of the total, LIFT approximately 0.2 per cent. and ISTCs 0.4 per cent. As payments rise with the rate of inflation, as demonstrated by the tables, we expect that NHS PPP/PFI contributions will remain at the level of less than 2 per cent. of the total budget for the life of the contracts. The phase 1 ISTC schemes have reached, or are reaching the end of their contracted periods and are being renegotiated.

Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust

Jane Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he expects to make a decision on the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital's Trust's building project; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent representations he has received on the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital's Trust's proposed building project; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Outline Business Case (OBC) for the £453 million private finance initiative proposal to redevelop Royal Liverpool University Hospital is currently with the Department for approval. Subject to approval by departmental officials and Ministers the OBC will then go to the Treasury for approval.

Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital

Jane Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he expects to make a decision on the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital building project; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent representations he has received on the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital building project; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust went to the market for its (approximately) £200 million private finance initiative scheme for a new children's hospital through the launch of a notice in the  Official Journal of the European Union on 14 January 2010. This is the beginning of the procurement phase to select a preferred bidder to work with, sign a contract and proceed to construction, subject to appropriate approvals.

Syringes

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many young people aged  (a) under 18 and  (b) between 18 and 21 years old have been provided with needle exchange services in the latest period for which figures are available.

Gillian Merron: Information on the number of people supplied with clean needles is not collected centrally, by either the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse or the Department.

Whittington Hospital: Accident and Emergency Departments

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with London North Central Health Authorities on the future provision of accident and emergency services at Whittington Hospital; and what information has been provided to him on the future of the service.

Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 26 February 2010,  Official Report, column 807W.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Buildings

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on office refurbishments in each of the last 10 years.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) recorded spend on office refurbishments and security upgrades by calendar year from 2002 until 2008, from which time this information has been recorded by financial year. Amounts spent on refurbishments and security upgrades for both UK and overseas offices, since 2002, are provided in the following table:
	
		
			   £ 
			  Calendar year  
			 2002 3,061,033 
			 2003 10,970,347 
			 2004 4,533,262 
			 2005 2,625,477 
			 2006 2,257,548 
			 2007 1,753,239 
			 2008 1,090,392 
			   
			  Financial year  
			 2008-09 1,186,205 
			 2009-10 1,482,968 
		
	
	Information on spend prior to 2002 cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate costs.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many  (a) disciplinary and  (b) capability procedures have been (i) initiated and (ii) completed in his Department in each of the last five years; how much time on average was taken to complete each type of procedure in each such year; how many and what proportion of his Department's staff were subject to each type of procedure in each such year; and how many and what proportion of each type of procedure resulted in the dismissal of the member of staff.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has initiated and completed one capability procedure in the last five years. To provide further information on this procedure would breech confidentiality.
	Details of the number of disciplinary procedures which have been initiated and completed; the number and proportion of staff subject to disciplinary procedures; and the number and proportion of disciplinary procedures which resulted in the dismissal of the member of staff in each of the last five years are provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Procedures initiated  Number of staff  Proportion of staff (Percentage)  Procedures completed( 1)  Number of dismissals  Proportion of disciplinary cases resulting in dismissal (Percentage) 
			 2006 21 20 0.70 13 5 25 
			 2007 31 29 1.10 24 9 31 
			 2008 23 23 0.90 16 5 22 
			 2009 18 18 0.70 11 3 17 
			 2010(2) 3 3 0.10 1 0 0 
			 (1 )Disciplinary procedures that have not been completed are either ongoing cases; cases that have been dropped due to there being no case to answer; or cases which did not result in formal action under the disciplinary procedures.  (2 )To date. 
		
	
	The average time taken to complete these disciplinary procedures was 46 days. The procedure is initiated when the individual is issued with the invitation to attend a disciplinary meeting and includes any appeal process that may take place.

Departmental ICT

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what information technology projects initiated by his Department were cancelled prior to completion in the last 12 months; and what the cost of each such project was to the public purse.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not cancelled any information technology projects prior to completion in the last 12 months.

Departmental Marketing

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip Northwood of 5 January 2010,  Official Report, column 103W, on departmental marketing how much his Department and agencies have spent on advertising, marketing, public relations and publicity in relation to the  (a) Real Help Now and  (b) Building Britain's Future themed campaign to date.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not spent any money on advertising, marketing, public relations and publicity in relation to Real Help or Building Britain's Future.
	DFID has no agencies.

Departmental Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was paid in reimbursable expenses to special advisers in his Department in each of the last five years.

Michael Foster: This information cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate costs.

Fairtrade Initiative

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution his Department is making to Fairtrade Fortnight.

Gareth Thomas: I refer the hon. Lady to the oral answer provided by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander on 3 March 2010,  Official Report, column 930.

Fairtrade Initiative

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution his Department has made to Fairtrade Fortnight.

Gareth Thomas: I refer the hon. Lady to the oral answer provided by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander on 3 March 2010,  Official Report, column 930.

Haiti: Earthquakes

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps his Department has taken together with British charities to co-ordinate the provision of assistance to Haiti.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) maintains a close relationship with British non-governmental organisations. Since the earthquake in Haiti I have had four meetings with civil society groups to discuss how the UK can best provide assistance. One of the meetings was also attended by Sir John Holmes, United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, who is leading the coordination of the international relief effort in Haiti.

Illegal Immigrants

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff his Department and its agencies have appointed who were later discovered to be illegal immigrants since 2005.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not appointed any staff members who were later discovered to be illegal immigrants.

Languages

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many  (a) Ministers and  (b) civil servants in his Department received coaching in a foreign language in the last 12 months; what expenditure his Department incurred in providing such coaching; and in what languages such coaching was provided.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not funded foreign language coaching for a Minister in the last 12 months.
	DFID does not hold a central record of the number of staff who have received coaching in a foreign language. Requirements for language training are assessed by individual Departments and overseas offices and are funded by departmental training budgets. It is not possible to provide this information without incurring disproportionate costs.

Overseas Aid: HIV Infection

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to his Department's announcement of 4 November 2009 on funding for HIV prevention, whether the £220 million for HIV and neglected diseases health research was part of the £6 billion allocation for health systems announced as part of its HIV/AIDS strategy.

Michael Foster: The £220 million for HIV and neglected diseases health research announcement on 4 November 2009 is part of the £6 billion allocation for health systems announced in the Department for International Development's (DFID's) HIV/AIDS strategy.

Overseas Aid: HIV Infection

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to his Department's announcement of 4 November 2009 on funding for health research into HIV and neglected diseases, how much of the sum committed has been spent to date; and on which projects.

Michael Foster: To date, the Department for International Development (DFID) has committed a total of £115 million to the following projects for the period 2008-13:
	£40 million to the International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI);
	£20 million to the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM);
	£18 million to the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi);
	£18 million to the TB Alliance (TBA);
	£19 million to Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV).
	Of this total committed, £35.5 million has been spent so far.

Somalia: Overseas Aid

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the extent of starvation in refugee camps at Afgoye, Somalia; and what steps his Department is taking to provide humanitarian assistance.

Gareth Thomas: The United Nations estimates that 366,000 internally displaced people (IDP) are living in refugee camps at Afgooye and that one in four children in these camps are affected by high rates of chronic malnutrition.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) will spend at least £11.5 million on humanitarian assistance in Somalia in the current financial year. DFID is a major contributor to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund which disbursed £16.9 million to Somalia in 2009, and to the European Community Humanitarian Office which disbursed £19.6 million in 2009.

Trade Unions

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many days staff of his Department spent on trade union activity in the latest year for which figures are available; and what recent estimate he has made of the annual cost to the public purse of such activity.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has one member of full time staff allocated to undertake trade union activities. The salary of that staff member is in the range from £30,000 to £35,000 a year.
	In addition, all trade union members are allowed a reasonable amount of time to attend official union meetings. DFID does not hold a central record of the total time spent on such activity.

Trades Union Congress

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department and its agencies have given to the Trades Union Congress since 1997-98; and for what purposes.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has provided £2.58 million to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the period from 2002-03 to date. This support was made available on the basis that it would be used solely for development assistance purposes as defined in the International Development Act (2002) and has enabled the TUC to work with unions abroad in support of basic political freedoms in countries such as Iraq and Zimbabwe.
	Information prior to this is not held on current financial systems and cannot be retrieved without incurring disproportionate costs.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Baptist Union of Great Britain

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if she will meet representatives of the Baptist Union of Great Britain to discuss the effects of section 75 of the Pension Act 2004 on their organisation;
	(2)  when she intends to reply to the letters dated 15 January and 9 February 2010 from the hon. Member for Wantage about the effect of section 75 of the Pension Act 2004 on the Baptist Union of Great Britain;
	(3)  if she will make an assessment of the effects of section 75 of the Pension Act 2004 on the Baptist Union of Great Britain; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: I replied to the hon. Member on 6 March 2010.
	Where an employer ceases to participate actively in a multi-employer defined benefit pension scheme, section 75 of the Pensions Act 1995 provides that it may be required to pay an employer debt. This is a sum of money payable to the pension scheme. The policy behind the employer debt requirements is to provide protection for pension scheme members after a sponsoring employer ceases to participate.
	The Baptist Union of Great Britain has particular concerns about the way that section 75 applies to their pension scheme. I have therefore asked my officials to meet representatives of the Baptist Union to discuss their concerns. They will report to me about the outcome of the meeting.

Cold Weather Payments: Highlands of Scotland

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cold weather payments have been made and how much has been paid out to households in the Highlands in winter 2009-10.

Helen Goodman: holding answer 4 March 2010
	The information requested is not available for the Highlands. Cold weather payment information is available only by weather station. There are a number of weather stations that cover the Highlands area and some of these also cover areas that are not part of the Highlands.
	For winter 2009-10, for Great Britain, to 1 March an estimated 11.8 million cold weather payments worth an estimated £295 million have been authorised. Payments authorised have not necessarily already been paid.
	 Source: DWP records of triggers to weather stations up to and including 1 March 2010 and estimates of potential qualifiers by weather station.

Departmental Advertising

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much her Department has spent on  (a) print,  (b) online,  (c) television and  (d) radio advertising in each of the last five years; how much has been spent on advertising in 2009-10 to date; and what percentage of advertising expenditure in each year was managed by the Central Office of Information.

Jim Knight: Government policies and programmes affect the lives of millions of people and in order for them to work they must be communicated effectively. However, this has also to be done with cost efficiency in mind and there are strict rules to ensure value for money on Government advertising. The Department for Work and Pensions provides services for over 20 million people, from helping the most vulnerable pensioners to getting people back to work and communications activity is designed to raise awareness of these vital services.
	Advertising spend within the DWP covers both campaign advertising and recruitment advertising. For 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 data are only available to confirm overall media spend by the Department via COI. For 2008-09 data are only available to confirm media spend via COI and by direct advertising. Fully audited figures for spending on advertising for 2009-10 are not available at this time.
	
		
			  £million 
			   COI  Direct 
			 2005-06 11.211 (1)- 
			 2006-07 6.579 (1)- 
			 2007-08 9.179 (1)- 
			 2008-09 9.542 2.785 
			 (1 )Data unavailable or not held centrally for these specific years and it would incur disproportionate cost in the gathering of this data.  Note: All costs are exclusive of VAT, COI fees, advertising rebates and audit adjustments and are for media spend only. They also exclude the cost of creative work, research, production of supporting materials or launch events.

Departmental Contracts

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many bids have been made for work choice programmes; and in how many of those bids sub-contractors have been streamlined.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 2 March 2010
	A total of 120 Invitation to Tender bids for the Work Choice programme have been submitted by 23 Organisations. The supply chain associated with these submissions comprises of 91 Organisations from the Public Sector, 46 Organisations from the Private Sector and 92 Organisations from the Third Sector.

Departmental Contracts

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether her Department holds for benchmarking purposes information on the operation of the Prime Contractor model in  (a) Australia and  (b) the Netherlands.

Jim Knight: holding answer 2 March 2010
	The Department does not use information on the prime contractor models in Australia or the Netherlands to carry out systematic benchmarking exercises. Information on these and other models is referred to on an ongoing basis to inform the implementation and evaluation of the DWP Commissioning Strategy.

Departmental Drinking Water

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much her Department spent on bottled drinking water in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Because bottled water for meetings was previously sourced from a variety of contracts, and not accounted for separately, the amount spent in earlier years could be provided only at a disproportionate cost. The Department stopped the provision of brought in bottled water for meetings in July 2008. Since then the Department has been using an on-site system in three large sites, which bottles tap water and uses re-usable bottles. The cost of this system from July 2008 to March 2009 was approximately £18,000.

Departmental Energy

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated  (a) amount and  (b) cost was of energy used in her Department and its agencies in each year since 1997; what proportion of the energy used was generated from renewable sources in each of those years; and if she will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The following table gives the amount of total energy consumed (electricity, fossil fuels and gas), the cost of that energy for each of the years 1999-2009 and the total electricity consumed (standard and renewable), for the Department for Work and Pensions and its Executive agencies, as reported in the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) annual reports, and their predecessors.
	Figures are only available from 1999-2000-the baseline year for the current carbon reduction targets. The first full year of DWP operations was 2002-03, following its creation in June 2001. Figures for earlier years are not available.
	The term renewable energy refers only to electricity, which is shown as a percentage of the total electricity used in the following table. During the last year the proportion of renewable energy procured decreased due to increasing demand across the energy sector.
	
		
			   Total energy (kWh)  Cost (£ million)  Total electricity (kWh)  Renewable electricity (percentage) 
			 2002-03 715,753,818 19.1 290,690,818 20.7 
			 2003-04 730,615,118 20.4 329,573,118 33.1 
			 2004-05 757,031,312 24.5 328,376,312 60.5 
			 2005-06 702,573,363 29.6 327,460,763 62.9 
			 2006-07 720,001,384 32.7 328,992,384 63.0 
			 2007-08 598,909,215 29.7 287,936,215 79.7 
			 2008-09 583,484,876 38.0 274,867,356 48.4 
		
	
	The Department will continue to work, in conjunction with its estates partners and other key stakeholders, to reduce its energy consumption and achieve its carbon budget. It will continue to source renewable energy as part of the pan-government energy procurement contracts which currently require 10 per cent. of energy from renewable sources coupled with 15 per cent. of energy from good quality combined heat and power.

Departmental Energy

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps her Department plans to take to participate in the Earth Hour event on 27 March 2010.

Jonathan R Shaw: DWP pays particular attention to any out-of-hours consumption of energy and we have registered to take part in this year's Earth Hour event, as we did in 2009. We will be working with our Estates Partner to ensure that the lights are off in our buildings from 8.30 pm on Saturday 27 March for one hour. We will also promote this event internally to our staff.

Departmental Internet

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent on  (a) strategy and planning,  (b) design and build,  (c) hosting and infrastructure,  (d) content provision and  (e) testing and evaluation for her Department's websites in each of the last three years; and what budget has been allocated for such activities in 2009-10.  [Official Report, 29 March 2010, Vol. 508, c. 5MC.]

Jim Knight: Websites managed within the Department include:
	DWP Corporate
	Jobcentre Plus
	The Pension Service (this site closed September 2009)
	Child Support Agency
	Directgov (cross government site)
	Now Let's Talk Money
	Independent Living Funds
	NDDP Job Broker Search
	Office for Disability Issues
	European Social Fund
	Ethnic Minority Employment Task force
	The Pensions Advisory Service
	Industrial Injuries Advisory Council
	Social Security Advisory Committee
	Personal Accounts Delivery Authority
	Working for Health
	CMEC
	CM Options
	Remploy
	Pension Protection Fund
	The Pensions Ombudsman
	Pensions Protection Fund Ombudsman
	Pensions Regulator
	Independent Case Examiner
	Health and Safety Executive
	Ongoing creation, development and maintenance of websites managed by the Department is mainly carried out by the Department's own in-house digital media team and in-house maintenance team. It is not possible for us to extract and quantify previous or forecast costs for the all the categories requested, in particular strategy and content provision, because in most cases, staff working across these areas are engaged in more than one role and/or website. Similarly, our hosting and infrastructure costs form part of a wider departmental IT contract.
	We can provide figures for the redevelopment of the DWP website and the Office for Disability Issues website as we ran separate projects with separate budgets within the last three years. The costs quoted are for design and build work only and are not an annual cost.
	
		
			   Website  Cost (£000) 
			 2008-09 DWP Corporate 216 
			 2007-08 Office for Disability Issues 147 
		
	
	There are no plans to spend money on design and build in 2009-10 for these two websites.
	Figures available for testing and evaluation are:
	
		
			Cost (£000) 
			  Website   
			 2008-09 The Pension Service 21 
			 2008-09 Jobcentre Plus 20 
			
			  Planned spend   
			 2009-10 The Pension Service 19 
			 2009-10 Jobcentre Plus 13 
			 2009-10 DWP Corporate 3 
			 2009-10 Office for Disability Issues 6 
		
	
	There is no separate Directgov budget for the elements specified.
	We are working with Cabinet Office to implement a standardised method for quantifying website costs across Government in line with Central Office of Information guidelines. This is in response to a Public Accounts Committee recommendation. These costs will be available from April 2010 onwards as per the timetable.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many full-time equivalent staff of each grade are employed by her Department to assist special advisers.

Jonathan R Shaw: There are two full-time equivalent staff employed to assist the special advisors. One executive office and one higher executive officer.

Departmental Paper

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what  (a) suppliers and  (b) brands of (i) paper and (ii) paper products her Department uses; and what her Department's policy is on the procurement of those materials.

Jonathan R Shaw: Either directly or through their subcontractors-Xerox (UK) Ltd. provide DWP with the following paper and paper products:
	Core print-forms and leaflets
	Configurable print-letterheads, complement slips etc.
	Marketing and publicity-promotional posters, campaign support products
	Secure print-girocheques and payable orders
	Cut paper-photocopier and printer paper (to support desk top, local and bulk copying)
	Stationery products-e.g. diaries, envelopes, notebooks etc.
	At present, cut sheet papers are branded primarily by Banner, M Real, Steinbeis, Datacopy, Hewlett Packard and Xerox. From April 2010, DWP will move to a single brand of 100 per cent. recycled cut paper-Xerox Recycled.
	The majority of DWP forms are currently produced on a 100 per cent. recycled paper branded Releaf.
	To maximise value for money, the Department's policy is to use only products through the Xerox contract.
	Other paper products are provided through other central contracts:
	Letters to DWP customers and other internal documentation are provided by Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services (HPES). The sourcing of the paper products under this arrangement is determined by HPES and not the Department.
	Additional promotional products (outwith the Xerox arrangements) are provided through COI and range of communications framework suppliers. Under these arrangements, the suppliers are responsible for the sourcing of their own paper and paper products.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of claimants of employment and support allowance had attended their first interview with a Jobcentre Plus personal adviser before attending their first appointment with a medical professional working for ATOS in the latest period for which information is available.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 2 March 2010
	 The information requested is not publicly available and could be made so only at disproportionate cost.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what her latest assessment is of the administrative efficiency of the referral process for incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance claimants to Pathways to Work providers; whether it is the practice of Jobcentre Plus that its staff may not send client referral information electronically to providers; and what discussions she has had on introduction of IT arrangements to assist Jobcentre Plus with the administration of referrals to Pathways to Work providers.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 2 March 2010
	 When provider led Pathways to Work was first introduced the Department did not have a system in place which allowed the secure electronic transfer of customer data to external organisations.
	The Department ensures that safeguards are built into the process to protect personal customer details by restricting the number of individual customer details. In some areas, Jobcentre Plus conducts the initial interview on provider premises. Where this happens the referral is immediately handed to the provider.
	The Department is now in the process of rolling out a more efficient and secure IT based solution to refer customers from Jobcentre Plus to external providers for all commercial employment programmes. The Provider Referrals and Payments (PRaP) System began operating in October 2009 in support of the flexible new deal programme. At the point of contract award or renewal it is intended that all commercial employment programmes will adopt the PRaP IT solution both for referring individual customers and to make the associated payments to providers.

Employment Schemes

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when all prime contractors for the new Work Choice contracts will be informed of the outcome of their bid; what recent progress has been made in negotiations with potential Work Choice subcontractors; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: holding answer 3 March 2010
	Following the completion of the invitation to tender stage of the procurement exercise for this programme, the intention is to notify all those organisations designated as preferred bidders by 5 March. Unsuccessful bidders will be notified during week commencing 15 March.
	The sourcing team responsible for the procurement of Work Choice will be taking forward post tender discussions with the designated preferred bidders with the intention of agreeing and awarding contracts by 30 April 2010.
	Although we evaluate the subcontractor supply chains, we do not directly get involved in subcontractor negotiations.

Employment Schemes

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether she has set a target time in which participants in the Work Choice programme move into unsupported employment; whether an individual target direction is determined for each programme participant; and in what ways a participant's individual circumstances are taken into account in Work Choice programme timetables.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 3 March 2010
	There are no individual time constraints in which Work Choice participants are expected to move into unsupported employment. We will expect providers to focus on helping customers progress into sustainable open employment, wherever possible.
	Support provided by Work Choice will be tailored to the individual needs of the customer. We want customers who need supported employment to get more consistent, quality support that helps them progress at work and ultimately into unsupported employment, where appropriate.
	Work Choice providers and employers will work with the customer and agree an individual development plan, which is at the heart of their relationship. It is a living document, which will be reviewed regularly and adapted to the changing needs of the customer over what may be a long-term relationship, in order to help them progress in their career and stay in work.

Housing Benefit: Travelling People

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will make it her policy that the absence of planning permission is taken into account when awarding housing benefit to those residing in dwellings on Traveller sites.

Helen Goodman: Housing benefit is available to secure the occupation of a person's home by providing help towards the rent that person is liable to pay on it. Where that home is a caravan or mobile home it is possible that a person may have two separate liabilities to pay rent, one for the caravan or mobile home and one for the site on which it stands. Help from benefit is available toward both.
	As long as the person has a properly enforceable liability to pay rent for their caravan or mobile home, a claim for benefit would be dealt with in the normal way.
	This would be less clear cut if a charge was being made for a pitch fee where the site has no planning permission. It might be that without planning permission the pitch fee would be unenforceable and therefore would not be eligible for housing benefit. If that is the case then no help would be given toward any pitch fee that may be charged.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the results were of occupational analysis of the jobseeker's allowance claimant count undertaken by her Department in  (a) 2006 and  (b) 2009.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for occupational analysis of the jobseeker's allowance undertaken in (a) 2006 and (b) 2009. (319336)
	The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) is taken from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system. Analysis is published each month on the number of claimants of JSA by the claimant's usual occupation and sought occupation. Occupations are defined following the Standard Occupational Classification 2000.
	A table showing the number of people claiming JSA by the usual and sought occupation of claimants in December 2006 and December 2009 has been prepared. As the information requested is quite extensive, a copy has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Pension Credit: Hampstead

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners applied for pension tax credit in Hampstead and Highgate constituency up to 2008; and how many such applications have been refused.

Angela Eagle: Information about the total number of claims including unsuccessful claims is not available. The information that is available is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Successful applications to pension credit in Hampstead and Highgate parliamentary constituency 
			   Number of successful new claims ( T housand) 
			  2003  
			 November 3.28 
			   
			  2004  
			 February 0.19 
			 May 0.23 
			 August 0.18 
			 November 0.16 
			   
			  2005  
			 February 0.11 
			 May 0.11 
			 August 0.10 
			 November 0.10 
			   
			  2006  
			 February 0.07 
			 May 0.10 
			 August 0.09 
			 November 0.08 
			   
			  2007  
			 February 0.08 
			 May 0.09 
			 August 0.10 
			 November 0.10 
			   
			  2008  
			 February  
			 May 0.09 
			 August 0.08 
			 November 0.10 
			   
			  2009  
			 February 0.07 
			 May 0.10 
			  Notes:  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Totals may not sum due to rounding, and exclude some short-term flows not captured by the relevant scans.  2. The successful new claims is the total number of awards of benefit that commenced within the quarter.   Source:  DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Pension Service: Torbay

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will make it her policy to ensure that her Department continues to offer face-to-face Pension Service advice surgeries in Torquay and Paignton.

Angela Eagle: PDCS Local Service provides a face to face service for vulnerable pension age and disabled customers who are unable to access services through the normal channels such as by telephone or post. Local Service operates in the community across all of England, Scotland and Wales, and provides home visits to customers for information and advice, and help with applications to benefits and other complementary services.
	Local Service works closely with partners, such as local authorities and voluntary sector organisations to improve customer service delivery within local communities, through the creation of designated alternative offices, under the Social Security (Claims and Payments and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2003, and appointment based information points in community locations.
	Age Concern in Torquay is a designated alternative office. In addition to the advice and information service offered to pensioners by Age Concern they are also able to accept claims from people aged 60 or over for social security benefits, or from a person under age 60 for disability and carers benefits.
	With the opening of a 'Community One Stop hub' in Paignton in the autumn, which will offer joined up services from a number of stakeholders, Local Service will work with partners to offer this as an alternative appointment venue for vulnerable customers.
	By working in partnership in the community Local Service will continue to provide face to face services to vulnerable customers in the community of Torbay.

Personal Accounts Delivery Authority: Tata Consultancy Services

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many bidders other than Tata Consultancy Services there were for the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority contract for scheme administration services; and how much her Department will pay to Tata Consultancy Services under the contract.

Angela Eagle: Following publication of the contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union in January 2009, the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) received 56 expressions of interest.
	Following receipt of pre-qualification questionnaires, four organisations were invited to participate in competitive dialogue. As the competitive dialogue progressed, three of these bidders decided to withdraw. This left Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., who had progressively demonstrated during the competition that they were a strong bidder. This was confirmed by their final bid, which after a rigorous evaluation was found to fully meet PADA's delivery requirements at a good price for NEST's future members.
	Any payments due under the contract will be met by PADA, until the organisation is wound up on 5 July 2010. Payments will then be made by the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST). NEST will be self-financing in the long-term. This means that ultimately, all of the costs of establishing and operating NEST, including all payments due under this contract, will be met by NEST's members.

Social Security Advisory Committee: Finance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Social Security Advisory Committee spent on  (a) remuneration for (i) the Chairman and (ii) Committee members,  (b) travel expenses,  (c) subsistence,  (d) accommodation and  (e) hospitality in (A) 2005-06, (B) 2006-07, (C) 2007-08 and (D) 2008-09; and how much she expects to be spent by the Committee for such purposes in 2009-10.

Jim Knight: holding answer 30 November 20 09
	 Information is not available in the format requested. Such information(1) as is available is in the table.
	
		
			  £ 
			  SSAC expenditure  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 estimate 
			 Chairman's salary 20,500 21,000 21,500 21,900 22,200 
			 Members' fees (2)- 46,600 56,300 78,100 86,300 
			 Travel expenses(3) 21,400 19,700 25,500 26,800 28,800 
			 Subsistence (4)3,900 (5)2,800 (5)1,800 (5)2,700 2,400 
			 Accommodation (4)- 1,500 1,200 2,100 4,200 
			 Hospitality 0 0 0 0 0 
			 (1) All figures except hospitality rounded to the nearest £100. (2) Cost of members' fees cannot be disaggregated from other elements of SSAC's running costs. (3) Includes the chairman's, members' and staff travel costs. (4 )Includes the chairman's, members' and staff subsistence and accommodation costs. (5) Includes subsistence costs for the chairman, members' and staff.

Social Security Benefits: Angus

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Angus constituency are in receipt of  (a) attendance allowance,  (b) incapacity benefit and  (c) jobseeker's allowance; and what the average weekly amount received is in each case.

Jonathan R Shaw: Attendance allowance provides an important non-contributory, non-income-related and tax free cash contribution towards the extra costs of severely disabled people. The Government are committed to providing real help to disabled people, particularly through the early stages of economic recovery. This is why the Chancellor announced in the December 2009 pre-Budget report that attendance allowance would be increased by 1.5 per cent.-bringing forward help when it is most needed. Without this commitment, the recent negative growth in the retail prices index would have meant that this benefit would not have increased in 2010.
	From 27 October 2008 we replaced incapacity benefits for new customers with the employment and support allowance and a revised medical assessment which focuses on what people can do, rather than what they cannot.
	The information requested is in the table.
	
		
			  Number of cases in payment and average weekly payment of attendance allowance, incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance and jobseeker's allowance in the Angus constituency in August 2009 
			   Number of cases in payment  Average weekly amount paid (£) 
			 Attendance allowance 2,360 61.20 
			 Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance 2,370 93.59 
			 Jobseeker's allowance 1,540 63.08 
			  Notes: 1. Benefit recipients are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Average weekly amounts are rounded to the nearest penny. 3. Benefit recipients receiving more than one of these benefits will be counted under each benefit. 4. Attendance allowance totals exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. 5. This data does not include claimants of employment and support allowance introduced from October 2008 6. All data refers to benefit recipients and therefore will exclude credits only cases.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Social Security Benefits: Dundee

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Dundee East constituency are in receipt of  (a) incapacity benefit and  (b) jobseeker's allowance; and what the average weekly payment to such people is in each case.

Jonathan R Shaw: From 27 October 2008 we replaced incapacity benefits for new customers with the employment and support allowance and a revised medical assessment which focuses on what people can do, as well as what they cannot.
	The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of cases in payment and average weekly payment of incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance and jobseeker's allowance in the Dundee, East constituency in August 2009 
			  Benefit  Number of cases in payment  Average weekly amount paid (£) 
			 Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance 2,790 94.43 
			 Jobseeker's allowance 1,900 62.64 
			  Notes:  1. Number of cases in payment rounded to the nearest 10.  2. Average weekly amount paid is rounded to the nearest penny.  3. Claimants receiving more than one of these benefits are counted under each benefit.  4. The data do not include claimants of employment and support allowance introduced from October 2008.  5. All data refer to benefit recipients and will therefore exclude credits only and nil payment cases.   Source:  Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Yorkshire East of 10 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 303-04W, on social security benefits: fraud, when she expects her Department to publish the results of its voice risk analysis pilot schemes; and when she expects to decide whether to roll-out such schemes nationally.

Helen Goodman: Department analysts are currently evaluating the Voice Risk Analysis pilot results. Work is expected to be completed in the next few months. Next steps will be considered once the evaluation has been completed.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in respect of how many people allegations of benefit fraud were investigated in  (a) Scotland,  (b) the Highlands and  (c) England and Wales in each of the last three years; how many such people were subsequently (i) cautioned and (ii) prosecuted and convicted of such offences in each such year; and how many of those convicted in each such year received a (A) custodial sentence, (B) community sentence and (C) discharge.

Helen Goodman: The available information is in the tables:
	
		
			  Number of investigations 
			   National  Scotland  England and Wales 
			 2006-07 128,443 - - 
			 2007-08 194,549 - - 
			 2008-09 156,089 14,574 141,515 
			  Notes:  1. The number of people investigated and cautioned was collected on a national basis only for 2006-07 and 2007-08 and cannot therefore be provided for Scotland, the Highlands, England and Wales.  2. The information requested is available for 2008-09. However, figures for the Highlands cannot be separated out and are included within those for Scotland.   Source:  Fraud and Error by Sector (FIBS) and Fraud Referral and Intervention Management system (FRAIMS). 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of cautions 
			   National  Scotland  England and Wales 
			 2006-07 11,976 - - 
			 2007-08 12,821 - - 
			 2008-09 14,320 1,738 12,582 
			  Notes: 1. The number of people investigated and cautioned was collected on a national basis only for 2006-07 and 2007-08 and cannot therefore be provided for Scotland, the Highlands, England and Wales. 2. The information requested is available for 2008-09. However, figures for the Highlands cannot be separated out and are included within those for Scotland.  Source: Fraud and Error by Sector (FIBS) and Fraud Referral and Intervention Management system (FRAIMS). 
		
	
	
		
			  Numbers of convictions, custodial sentences, community sentences and discharges in England and Wales 
			   Conviction  Custodial sentence  Community sentence  Discharge 
			 2006-07 6,756 613 2,387 1,732 
			 2007-08 7,628 511 2,703 2,202 
			 2008-09 6,581 463 2,442 1,516 
			  Notes:  1. The number of people convicted and receiving a custodial/community sentence and discharge cannot be broken down for England and Wales.  2. The figures provided for convictions do not necessarily relate to the investigations undertaken in the years mentioned above because of the time taken to progress cases through the courts.   Source:  Sol Prosecution's Division Computerised Information System. 
		
	
	
		
			  Numbers of convictions, custodial sentences, community sentences and discharges in Scotland 
			   Conviction  Custodial sentence  Community sentence  Discharge 
			 2006-07 105 3 28 2 
			 2007-08 117 11 77 5 
			 2008-09 119 4 65 0 
			  Note:  In Scotland, responsibility for prosecutions lies with the Procurator Fiscal. The figures represent cases where information on outcomes has been provided by the Procurator Fiscal to the Department for Work and Pensions and recorded on our systems. Consequently, they may not be complete. The figures for the Highlands cannot be separated out and are included within those for Scotland.   Source:  Fraud and Error by Sector (FIBS) and Fraud Referral and Intervention Management system (FRAIMS).

Social Security Benefits: Moray

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Moray constituency are in receipt of  (a) attendance allowance,  (b) incapacity benefit and  (c) jobseeker's allowance; and what the average weekly payment is in each case.

Jonathan R Shaw: Attendance allowance provides an important non-contributory, non-income-related and tax free cash contribution towards the extra costs of severely disabled people.
	The Government are committed to providing real help to disabled people, particularly through the early stages of economic recovery. This is why the Chancellor announced in the December 2009 pre-Budget report that attendance allowance would be increased by 1.5 per cent., bringing forward help when it is most needed. Without this commitment, the recent negative growth in the retail prices index would have meant that this benefit would not have increased in 2010.
	From 27 October 2008 we replaced incapacity benefits for new customers with the employment and support allowance and a revised medical assessment which focuses on what people can do, rather than what they cannot.
	The information requested is in the table.
	
		
			  Number of cases in payment and average weekly payment of incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance and jobseeker's allowance in the Moray constituency in August 2009 
			   Number of cases in payment  Average weekly amount paid (£) 
			 Attendance allowance 1,910 60.00 
			 Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance 2,140 93.66 
			 Jobseeker's allowance 1,070 63.44 
			  Notes: 1. Benefit recipients are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Average weekly amounts are rounded to the nearest penny. 3. Benefit recipients receiving more than one of these benefits will be counted under each benefit. 4. Attendance allowance totals exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. 5. This data does not include claimants of employment and support allowance introduced from October 2008. 6. All data refers to benefit recipients and therefore will exclude credits only cases.  Source:  Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Social Security Benefits: Na h-Eileanan an Iar

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of incapacity benefit in Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the average weekly payment made in such benefit was in that constituency in that period.

Jonathan R Shaw: From 27 October 2008 we replaced incapacity benefits for new customers with the employment and support allowance and a revised medical assessment which focuses on what people can do, rather than what they cannot.
	The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of cases in payment and average weekly payment of incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance in the Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency in August 2009 
			   Number of cases in payment  Average weekly amount paid (£) 
			 Incapacity Benefit/Severe Disablement Allowance 800 94.33 
			  Notes: 1. Benefit recipients are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Average weekly amounts are rounded to the nearest penny. 3. This data does not include claimants of employment and support allowance introduced from October 2008. 4. All data refers to benefit recipients and will therefore exclude credits only and nil payment cases.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Trade Unions

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many days staff of her Department and its agencies spent on trade union activity in the latest year for which figures are available; and what recent estimate she has made of the annual cost to the public purse of such activity.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information is as follows:
	1. The Corporate Employee Relations Framework for the Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies, which was introduced in August 2003, sets out the maximum amount of time off we will allow for trade union representatives to undertake their trade union activity.
	2. The Department and its agencies allows a total resource of 0.2 per cent. of the Department's overall whole time equivalent staffing headcount as at the 1 April each year. Out of a total of 21,134,300 staff days this was 42,460 days for the year commencing 1 June 2009 to 31 May 2010.
	3. Information on the annual cost to the public purse of such activity is not available.

Work Capability Assessment

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients of employment and support allowance were required to take a work capability assessment in each of the last six months.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 3 March 2010
	From 27 October 2008 we replaced incapacity benefits for new customers with the employment and support allowance and a revised medical assessment which focuses on what people can do, as well as what they cannot.
	The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Work capability assessment breakdown showing the number of people assessed by month of assessment from September 2009 to November 2009 
			  Month  Total assessed 
			 September 2009 34,200 
			 October 2009 35,200 
			 November 2009 33,200 
			  Notes: 1. November 2009 is the latest month for which data is available. 2. A small number of employment and support allowance claims have been assessed more than once. Repeat assessments are excluded from these figures. 3. This data is published online at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/esa_wca/esa_wca_19012010.pdf  Source: Employment and Support Allowance: Work Capability Assessment Statistical Release: January 2010

JUSTICE

Bail Accommodation and Support Service

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many places are to be provided under his Department's contract with Stonham for the Bail Accommodation and Support Service;
	(2)  how much has been paid to Clearsprings Ltd in respect of the Bail Accommodation and Support Service in  (a) 2007-08,  (b) 2008-09 and  (c) 2009-10.

Jack Straw: The contract with Stonham for the Bail Accommodation and Support Service requires an initial provision of a maximum of 740 bed spaces. However, directors of Offender Management will review demand in their region from time to time.
	The amount paid to ClearSprings for the bail accommodation and support service for 2007-08 was £4.5 million and for 2008-09 was £5.8 million. In the current financial year until the end of December 2009, £4.5 million has been paid.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) disciplinary and  (b) capability procedures have been (i) initiated and (ii) completed in his Department in each of the last five years; how much time on average was taken to complete each type of procedure in each such year; how many and what proportion of his Department's staff were subject to each type of procedure in each such year; and how many and what proportion of each type of procedure resulted in the dismissal of the member of staff.

Michael Wills: In the Ministry of Justice, disciplinary and capability procedures are devolved to a local line management. Therefore, records of procedures initiated and completed, and the length of time taken, are not held centrally. Obtaining this data would involve asking each individual office to conduct a search of their local records, and this would incur a disproportionate cost.
	The Ministry does record centrally the number of dismissals under its disciplinary and capability procedures. The figures and the proportion of total staff involved (as a percentage) are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Year( 1)  Conduct  Percentage of total staff  Capability  Percentage of total staff 
			 2007-08 261 0.3 211 0.2 
			 2008-09 172 0.2 313 0.4 
			 2009-10(2) 159 0.2 275 0.3 
			 (1) Data is given from the inception of the Ministry of Justice (2 )Up to 31 January 2010

Departmental ICT

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost has been of the Heavy Hitter Programme Delivery Director service deployed in his Department; on which IT projects each consultant contracted under that service worked; and what payments have been made to each such consultant for work undertaken in connection with the programme.

Jack Straw: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not deployed a Heavy Hitter service. Senior ICT appointments within the Ministry are agreed by the Chief Information Officer in conjunction with other senior management, as appropriate.
	The Ministry was established in May 2007 and prior to that responsibility for information technology rested with the predecessor Departments, including the Department for Constitutional Affairs, parts of the Home Office, and the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. In October 2005 an appointment was made (by the Home Office) under the Heavy Hitter service to the role of Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Youth Justice Board (YJB), now an MoJ sponsored NDPB. The individual continued in the CIO role until November 2009 and since then has supported work to identify how information management flows can improve efficiency and public safety in the adult criminal justice system. The YJB (as employer) ends the contract on 31 March 2010.
	The costs incurred over the period October 2005 to March 2010, are £1,436,344.60. This includes agency fees, VAT and work related expenses.

Departmental ICT

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what information technology projects initiated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies were cancelled prior to completion in the last 12 months; and what the cost of each such project was to the public purse.

Michael Wills: There have been no information technology projects cancelled prior to completion within the last 12 months.

Departmental Languages

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) Ministers and  (b) civil servants in his Department received coaching in a foreign language in the last 12 months; what expenditure his Department incurred in providing such coaching; and in what languages such coaching was provided.

Michael Wills: The Ministry does not provide coaching in foreign languages centrally, and does not hold any records on this matter. To obtain the information requested would involve identifying and contacting sources of information in many different locations and would therefore incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Marketing

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip Northwood of 5 January 2010,  Official Report, column 103W, on departmental marketing, how much his Department and agencies have spent on advertising, marketing, public relations and publicity in relation to the  (a) Real Help Now and  (b) Building Britain's Future themed campaign to date.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice has not engaged in advertising, marketing, public relations and publicity in relation to Real Help Now and Building Britain's Future themed campaigns.

Driving Offences: Mobile Phones

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions there have been of people of each sex in each age group in  (a) England and Wales,  (b) Essex and  (c) Southend for the offence of driving whilst using a hand-held mobile telephone since the creation of that offence.

Claire Ward: The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences of using a hand held mobile telephone while driving, by sex and age group, in England and Wales and the Essex police force area, from 2004 (the offence came into force on 1 December 2003) to 2008 (latest available) is given in the following table.
	Court proceedings data are not available at town or parliamentary constituency level.
	Court proceedings data for 2009 are planned for publication in the autumn, 2010.
	
		
			  Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences of using a hand held mobile phone while driving( 1) , by sex and age, England and Wales and the Essex police force area, from 2004 to 2008( 2, 3) 
			  Area  2004  2005  2006  2007( 4)  2008( 5, 6) 
			  England and Wales  
			  Males  
			 Aged 20 and under 16 31 27 374 849 
			 Aged 21 and over 429 1,008 1,282 9,282 22,800 
			 Sub-total 445 1,039 1,309 9,656 23,649 
			  Females  
			 Aged 20 and under 3 3 5 70 165 
			 Aged 21 and over 34 126 137 1,185 3,179 
			 Sub-total 37 129 142 1,255 3,344 
			  Persons  
			 Aged 20 and under 19 34 32 444 1,018 
			 Aged 21 and over 463 1,134 1,419 10,467 26,074 
			 Total 482 1,168 1,451 10,911 27,092 
			   
			  O f which:  
			   
			  Essex police force area  
			  Males  
			 Aged 20 and under 2 1 - 14 57 
			 Aged 21 and over 16 35 32 453 1,566 
			 Sub-total 18 36 32 467 1,623 
			  Females  
			 Aged 20 and under 1 - - 9 10 
			 Aged 21 and over 3 5 7 69 274 
			 Sub-total 4 5 7 78 284 
			  Persons  
			 Aged 20 and under 3 1 - 23 67 
			 Aged 21 and over 19 40 39 522 1,847 
			 Total 22 41 39 545 1,914 
			 (1) Statute: Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986-R.110(1), R.110(2) and R.110(3). Introduced 1 December 2003. Offence description:  R.110(1) use of a hand held mobile phone while driving; R.110(2) causing or permitting the use of a mobile phone while driving a motor vehicle R.110(3) using a mobile phone while supervising the holder of a provisional driving licence to drive a motor vehicle on the road. (2) The figures given relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Tough new penalties for using a hand-held mobile phone while driving and for failing to have proper control of a vehicle came into effect on 27 February 2007. (5) Excludes convictions for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. (6) The gender of a defendant proceeded against may not have been reported. These data have been included in the persons only totals. Therefore, the males and females age group totals and sub-totals may not agree with the totals given under persons  Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice.

Illegal Immigrants

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff his Department, its predecessor Department and its agencies have appointed who were later discovered to be illegal immigrants since 2005.

Michael Wills: People employed to work in Government Departments and their agencies, either directly or through a contractor, are required to satisfy requirements on identity, nationality and immigration status prior to the offer of employment.
	There has been one occasion within the last five years where compliance checks found an illegal immigrant to be working for the Ministry of Justice in 2007. The individual was subject to a criminal prosecution for using false identification documentation and given a prison sentence.

Industrial Diseases: Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had with the Office for Legal Complaints on agreements made by the Legal Complaints Service with solicitors in respect of the repayment of fees related to work on compensation for miners.

Bridget Prentice: We are currently in the process of establishing the Office for Legal Complaints, which is on course to meet the timetable set by Parliament of becoming fully operational by late 2010. As part of this process, the OLC has been ensuring that it understands the landscape of the legal services market, including any possible areas which may generate significant amounts of complaints. The OLC has had discussions with the Law Society, Ministry of Justice and Department of Energy and Climate Change to make sure the lessons learnt from handling complaints such as coal health compensation claims benefit the new system of complaints handling, so that the new service is responsive to any demands that might be made of it.
	Under current proposals, the OLC will not be handling any complaints raised in the old system. As such, it will remain the responsibility of the LCS to ensure agreements made with solicitors in respect of miners' compensation fees are met. The LCS has received a total of 6,454 complaints relating to deductions. As a result of action taken by the LCS, including the project to work with firms to contact former clients, a total of £5,078,652.47 has been paid to former miners. This work is ongoing and the figure will therefore increase.
	During the period in which the LCS is closing down, the Legal Services Board, as part of its responsibilities as the new oversight regulator of the legal sector, will be seeking to ensure that there is no detriment to consumers and the profession. The Ministry of Justice will seek regular updates from the LCS and LSB. The Government continue to support the work of the Law Society in their work to recover deductions not yet paid.

Judges: Public Appointments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many judges have been appointed in each year since 1997.

Jack Straw: The number of salaried judges appointed in each calendar year since 1997 are as set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Number 
			   Courts  Tribunals 
			 1997 78 8 
			 1998 120 18 
			 1999 107 68 
			 2000 135 25 
			 2001 125 21 
			 2002 109 61 
			 2003 92 59 
			 2004 147 43 
			 2005 104 17 
			 2006 69 17 
			 2007 112 41 
			 2008 105 13 
			 2009 99 65 
			 2010 to date 24 12

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Billericay of 19 January 2010 on his constituent Mr Ron Capes.

Claire Ward: I replied to the hon. Member on 25 February. I apologise for the delay.

National Offender Management Institute

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the merits of establishing a National Offender Management Institute.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice keeps under regular review the arrangements for carrying out research on offender management. Our priority is to ensure that the research we commission provides good value for money and answers key questions about the most effective practice. We have received a number of proposals seeking funding for setting up an Offender Management Institute. We have assessed these and, while we believe they have some merit, we are not convinced that the time is right to change existing arrangements. Currently, a wide range of research on offender management is being carried out in different parts of the Department.

National Offender Management Service

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what mechanisms are in place to  (a) evaluate the (i) effectiveness and (ii) cost-effectiveness of offender management interventions and  (b) provide information on such evaluations.

Claire Ward: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has three major longitudinal cohort studies under way aimed at generating evidence on the link between interventions received by offenders and reoffending outcomes. One covers adult prisoners, one adult offenders on community orders, and the other examines juvenile offenders. The MoJ is also overseeing the Unit Cost in Criminal Justice (UCCJ) project which is generating information on the costs of interventions targeted at adult and young offenders. When combined with evidence from the cohorts studies, this will enable the Ministry of Justice to develop further understanding of the cost-effectiveness of interventions.
	The findings from these projects will be published on the MoJ website as they become available. Initial results from the prisoner cohort study can be found on the MOJ website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/problems-needs-prisoners.htm

National Offender Management Service: Finance

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the projected underspend in the National Offender Management Service's budget is for 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: At the end of January 2010, the National Offender Management Service forecast a resource 'near cash' year-end underspend of £18 million (0.4 per cent.) of its 'near cash' Resource budget of £4,003 million. Of this expected underspend, the majority is forecast to come from the change programme with the balance coming from business as usual activities. 'Near cash' resource is principally cash but also includes adjustments for goods and services received but for which invoices have not yet been paid.

National Offender Management Service: Manpower

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people employed in the National Offender Management Service head office and regional offices  (a) have a probation background,  (b) have a prison background and  (c) are career civil servants.

Maria Eagle: The prison and probation services operate within the framework of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Agency. For historical reasons the two services have different employment structures. Prison service staff are civil servants and are directly employed by the NOMS Agency. Probation service staff are not civil servants and are employed by a probation board or trust.
	Information on the career histories of National Offender Management Service Headquarters (NOMS) staff does not include National Probation Service (NPS) experience. It is therefore not possible to provide figures of how many NOMS headquarters staff have a NPS background. Career history information that is available shows that 1,776 NOMS headquarters staff have previous experience in Prison Service establishments and are considered to have a prison background, although not all would have worked with offenders.
	All NOMS headquarters staff other than those seconded from the NPS are civil servants. On 31 December 2009 there were 4,375 directly employed civil servants in national and regional offices and the Shared Service Centre.

Offences Against Children

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 13 May 2009,  Official Report, column 833W, on offences against children, what proportion of offenders aged 21 years or over convicted of offences related to sexual activity with a child under 13 received  (a) immediate custody,  (b) a suspended sentence,  (c) a community sentence,  (d) a fine,  (e) a conditional or absolute discharge and  (f) other treatment in 2008.

Jack Straw: The requested information is shown in the following table.
	The proportion of those given various disposals is shown as a percentage of those sentenced. Data held by the Ministry of Justice records the age of the offender at the time of sentencing, the figures show all offenders aged over 21 and over at that point.
	
		
			  Percentage( 1)  of offenders sentenced to disposals for sexual activity with a child under 13, 2008 
			   % Discharged  % Fined  % given community sentence  % given Suspended sentence  % given immediate custody  % Otherwise dealt with  Total persons sentenced 
			  2008
			 Familial sexual offences with a child under 13 0.0 0.0 21.7 4.3 73.9 0.0 23 
			 Rape or attempted rape of a child under 13 0.9 0.0 3.6 0.0 93.8 1.8 112 
			 Abuse of a position of trust - sexual activity with a child under 13 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 2 
			 Sexual activity with a child under 13 1.6 0.0 17.1 10.1 68.2 3.1 129 
			 Child prostitution offences - child under 13 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 2 
			 Sexual assault of a female child under 13 0.7 0.3 10.7 8.0 78.2 2.1 289 
			 Sexual assault of a male child under 13 0.0 0.0 22.7 6.8 65.9 4.5 44 
			 All above 0.8 0.2 12.0 6.7 78.0 2.3 601 
			 (1) Due to rounding rows may not sum to exactly 100 per cent.  Note s : 1. This data is based on the principle offence. Where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principle offence is the one for which the heaviest sentence was imposed; where the same sentence has been imposed for two or more offences the principle offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe.  2. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system  Source:  OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice

Parliamentary Standards Authority

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what account the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority took of the level access for hon. Members to its offices when determining its permanent location.

Jack Straw: The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is an independent body and the new location of the Authority is wholly a matter for them. Until a suitable mechanism is set up for answering parliamentary questions on the IPSA, the hon. Member may wish to contact IPSA directly.

Police Cautions

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cautions were issued in  (a) Essex and  (b) the Mid-Essex division of Essex constabulary area for (i) violence against the person, (ii) theft and handling stolen goods, (iii) sexual offences, (iv) criminal damage, (v) robbery and (vi) fraud and forgery in each year since 2005.

Claire Ward: The number of offenders issued with a caution for violence against the person, theft and handling stolen goods, sexual offences, criminal damage and robbery and fraud and forgery as reported by the Essex police force area, 2005 to 2008 (latest available) is shown in the following table.
	Court proceedings data are not available at separate divisions within a police force area.
	Data for 2009 are planned for publication in the autumn, 2010.
	
		
			  Number of offenders issued with a caution for selected offence type, Essex police force area, 2005 to 2008( 1,2,3) 
			  Offence type  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Violence against the person 1,342 2,754 3,127 645 
			 Sexual offences 40 87 67 36 
			 Robbery 10 26 21 2 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 1,903 3,023 3,615 2,117 
			 Fraud and forgery 176 278 383 284 
			 Criminal damage 40 56 63 47 
			 (1) The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence.  (2) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These are included in the totals.  (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.   Source:  Justice Statistics Analytical Services in the Ministry of Justice.

Prison Accommodation

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of prison cells reckoned as  (a) certified normal and  (b) operational capacity accommodation in each of the next five years.

Jack Straw: By the end of 2009 the total useable operational capacity of the prison estate was 85,986.
	The Government are currently planning to increase overall net capacity to 96,000 places by 2014. There are two substantial programmes to deliver new places, the Core Capacity Programme and the New Prisons Programme. The Core Capacity Programme aims to deliver 12,500 additional places by 2012 (for which 9,500 places had been announced prior to the Carter Report of December 2007). Places are being provided through the building of new prisons as well as expansions at existing ones and more effective use of the estate. The following table shows the approximate number of additional places currently planned for delivery between 2010 and 2012 under this programme (may be subject to change):
	
		
			   Number of places 
			 2010 3,650 
			 2011 1,400 
			 2012 2,600 
		
	
	In addition, under the New Prisons Programme it is intended to build up to five new prisons with a total of 7,500 places and, as part of this programme it is currently planned to close up to 5,500 worn out, inefficient places in the current estate.
	The Ministry of Justice does not hold official estimates for future useable operational capacity. Operational capacity figures will also be affected by the impact of maintenance programmes, which will vary over time. The precise numbers and delivery timings of new prison places will also depend on construction schedules and prioritisation within the prison estate.

Prison Sentences

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many indeterminate sentences for public protection handed down  (a) between 14 July and 31 December 2008 and  (b) in 2009 were given with tariffs of fewer than 24 months.

Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 9 February 2010,  Official Report, columns 944-45W.
	Table 1 in that answer shows the number of offenders who have received an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP), if they are over 18 years of age, or a detention for public protection (DPP), if they are under 18 years of age, with a tariff of two years or less, as calculated from date of sentence to the date of tariff expiry. The figures shown are as notified to the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) at 5 February 2010.
	The figures in that answer were taken from the Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD) in NOMS, and, as with any large scale recording system, it is subject to possible errors arising from either data entry or processing. The PPUD is a live database, updated on a regular basis. As a result, snapshots taken in consecutive days will contain differences reflecting updates.

Prison Sentences

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners serving an indeterminate sentence for public protection have been in prison three or more years beyond their tariff; and how many of those prisoners are in an open prison.

Maria Eagle: As at 4 March 2010, there were 95 of prisoners serving an indeterminate sentence for public protection who have been in prison three or more years beyond their tariff. Of these, 10 were in open conditions. These figures include those prisoners being held within the juvenile and female estates.
	The fact that a prisoner is held in custody past-tariff does not mean that he is being detained in custody unfairly. The tariff is the minimum period for punishment and deterrence which must be served before an indeterminate sentence prisoner may be considered for release.
	However, whether the Parole Board will direct the release of tariff-expired indeterminate sentence prisoners depends on whether the board determines that it is no longer necessary, on the grounds of public protection, for that offender to be detained in custody.
	The figures to answer each question were taken from the Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD) in the National Offender Management Service, and, as with any large scale recording system, it is subject to possible errors arising from either data entry or processing. The PPUD is a live database, updated on a regular basis. As a result, snapshots taken in consecutive days will contain differences reflecting updates.

Prisoners Release

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the size of the prison population in each month up to the end of 2015 following ending of the End of Custody Licence Scheme. [320059 [Official Report, 30 March 2010, Vol. 508, c. 7MC.]]
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Jack Straw: The Ministry of Justice produces annual projections of the prison population in England and Wales, most recently in August 2009. These project the prison population under three different scenarios, based on different assumptions about future sentencing trends.
	Other impacts included in the projections, such as those of legislation and processes, are applied equally to all scenarios. These cover the anticipated impacts of policy and process initiatives that have agreed implementation timetables. These assumptions and anticipated impacts have remained unchanged since 2008 projections.
	End of Custody Licence (ECL) was introduced on 29 June 2007. Under this scheme a prisoner who was given a determinate custodial sentence between four weeks and four years can be released on licence up to 18 days before the end of their sentence.
	Because there was no agreed timetable for its conclusion, its effect was included throughout the projection period. In the second half of 2009, the caseload of prisoners on ECL has been between 1,000 and 1,200:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/endofcustodylicence.htm
	The scheme ends on 12 March this year as it was recently announced. As result of this, it is expected that by the end of March 2010, the prison population will be 1,000 to 1,200 higher than was anticipated in the current published prison population projections.
	This effect will carry on from March 2010 estimates onwards. Here are last year's projections plus 1,200:
	
		
			  Number 
			   High  Medium  Low 
			  2010
			 March 86,000 85,400 84,700 
			 April 86,200 85,600 84,800 
			 May 86,200 85,500 84,600 
			 June 86,900 86,100 85,100 
			 July 87,800 86,900 85,900 
			 August 87,600 86,700 85,600 
			 September 87,900 86,900 85,600 
			 October 88,000 86,900 85,600 
			 November 88,500 87,300 86,000 
			 December 86,800 85,600 84,100 
			 
			  2011
			 January 87,700 86,400 84,800 
			 February 88,000 86,600 84,900 
			 March 89,000 87,600 85,800 
			 April 88,900 87,300 85,500 
			 May 89,200 87,500 85,600 
			 June 89,800 88,100 86,100 
			 July 90,400 88,600 86,500 
			 August 90,400 88,500 86,400 
			 September 90,500 88,600 86,400 
			 October 90,600 88,600 86,400 
			 November 90,800 88,700 86,400 
			 December 88,600 86,400 84,000 
			 
			  2012
			 January 89,700 87,500 85,000 
			 February 90,600 88,300 85,800 
			 March 90,800 88,500 85,900 
			 April 90,900 88,500 85,800 
			 May 91,200 88,700 85,900 
			 June 91,400 88,900 86,100 
			 July 91,900 89,200 86,300 
			 August 91,800 89,100 86,100 
			 September 91,900 89,100 86,000 
			 October 91,900 89,100 86,000 
			 November 92,000 89,000 85,900 
			 December 88,500 86,700 83,400 
			 
			  2013
			 January 89,500 87,700 84,300 
			 February 90,400 88,500 85,100 
			 March 90,600 88,600 85,100 
			 April 90,600 88,500 85,000 
			 May 90,900 88,700 85,100 
			 June 91,100 88,800 85,200 
			 July 91,500 89,200 85,400 
			 August 91,400 89,000 85,200 
			 September 91,500 89,000 85,100 
			 October 91,500 89,000 85,000 
			 November 91,600 89,000 85,000 
			 December 89,400 86,700 82,600 
			 
			  2014
			 January 90,500 87,700 83,500 
			 February 91,400 88,600 84,300 
			 March 91,700 88,800 84,500 
			 April 91,800 88,800 84,400 
			 May 92,000 89,000 84,500 
			 June 92,400 89,200 84,700 
			 July 92,800 89,600 85,000 
			 August 92,800 89,500 84,800 
			 September 92,900 89,600 84,800 
			 October 93,000 89,600 84,800 
			 November 93,200 89,700 84,800 
			 December 90,900 87,400 82,400 
			 
			  2015
			 January 92,000 88,400 83,400 
			 February 93,000 89,300 84,200 
			 March 93,300 89,500 84,300 
			 April 93,400 89,500 84,300 
			 May 93,600 89,700 84,400 
			 June 93,900 89,900 84,500 
			  Note:  These figures will be revised in this year (2010) publication. 
		
	
	More details on the projections may be found in the latest published bulletin, Prison Population Projections 2009-15 Ministry of Justice Statistics Bulletin, 28 August 2009. This is available at the following web page:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonpopulation.htm

Prisoners Release: Poole

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders were released on the End of Custody Licence scheme in Poole in 2008-09.

Claire Ward: The home addresses for prisoners released on ECL are not recorded centrally and cannot be provided without manual checking of prisoner records which would breach cost limits.
	The total number of releases by offence group, sentence length, age, gender, ethnicity and prison establishment has been published on the Ministry of Justice website for the first week of the scheme, the remainder of July, and every subsequent month since then. However, there are no prisons in Poole so there is no ECL data to report.
	For the financial year 2008-09 the total number of prisoners released on ECL was 31,150.
	The monthly published figures can be found on separate links under the following main link:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/endofcustodylicence.htm

Prisoners: Death

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many deaths of prisoners serving an indeterminate sentence for public protection were recorded in each year since 2005; how many of those deaths were classified as self-classified as self-inflicted in each such year; and how many incidents of self-harm by prisoners serving such a sentence were recorded in each such year.

Maria Eagle: Indeterminate sentences for public protection (IPP) were introduced in 2005. Prisoners serving such sentences account for 6 per cent. of the average prison population. Since 2005 there have been a total of 13 self-inflicted deaths involving prisoners with IPP status. These numbers are detailed in the following tables:
	
		
			  Type of death  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			  All deaths 174 153 186 164 168 
			 Homicide 3 - 2 3 0 
			 Natural causes 88 83 92 99 105 
			 Self-inflicted 78 67 92 60 60 
			 Other non-natural 5 3 - 2 3 
			   
			  All IPP deaths 0 2 7 9 7 
			 Homicide - - - 1 - 
			 Natural causes - - 3 4 4 
			 Self-inflicted - 2 4 4 3 
		
	
	
		
			  IPP deaths as a percentage of all deaths 
			  Percentage 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			  All IPP deaths 0 1 4 5 4 
			 Homicide - - - 33 - 
			 Natural causes - - 3 4 4 
			 Self-inflicted - 3 4 7 5 
		
	
	The number of self-harm incidents involving IPP sentenced prisoners is as follows:
	
		
			   2005  2006  2007  2008 
			  Total population 75,979 78,127 80,216 83,194 
			 Total self harm incidents 23,776 23,395 22,875 24,686 
			 Total IPP population 24 1,079 2,859 4,461 
			 IPP Self-harm incidents 59 160 267 326 
		
	
	
		
			  IPP self-harm as a percentage of all self-harm 
			  Percentage 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 IPP self-harm incidents as percentage of all self-harm 0.2 0.7 1.2 1.3 
			 IPP population as percentage of total population 0.03 1.4 3.6 5.4 
			  Note:   Figures for 2009 remain subject to verification and are not yet available. 
		
	
	Any death in prison custody is a tragic event. The Government, Ministry of Justice and the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is committed to learning from such events and reducing the number of self-inflicted deaths in prison custody.
	NOMS has a broad, integrated and evidence-based prisoner suicide prevention and self-harm management strategy that seeks to reduce the distress of all those in prison. This encompasses a wide spectrum of prison and Department of Health work around such issues as mental health, substance misuse and resettlement. Any prisoner identified as at risk of suicide or self-harm is cared for using the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork procedures.

Prisoners: Reoffenders

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of all released prisoners were subsequently convicted for offences committed in the first 18 days after release in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Jack Straw: This data is provided from the 'Reoffending of Adults: Results from the 2007 cohort' publication, in which data is only based on the first quarter of each year. Figures for the total number of offenders cannot be aggregated up to full year figures because there is no evidence that the first quarter is representative of the full year.
	Of the 12,810 adult offenders who were discharged from custody in the first quarter of 2007, 1,113 (9 per cent.), reoffended within 18 days of release. These offenders were all discharged from custody before the End of Custody Licence (ECL) scheme began on 29 June 2007. Had the ECL scheme been in place at the time of release, only a proportion of these offenders would have been eligible to be released under the scheme.
	Data on alleged reoffending by prisoners on ECL is given separately in the monthly bulletins. Between the inception of the ECL scheme on 29 June 2007 and 31 December 2009 1,166 prisoners had allegedly reoffended while on ECL, 1.5 per cent. of the total released.
	Further information on the one year rates of reoffending can be found in
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/reoffendingofadults.htm
	Further statistics relating to the End of Custody Licence scheme can be found in
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/endofcustodylicence.htm

Rape: Sentencing

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persons convicted of rape received  (a) a determinate prison sentence,  (b) a life sentence,  (c) an indeterminate sentence for public protection and  (d) any other disposal in each of the last five years; and what the average (i) determinate sentence length and (ii) tariff for (A) life and (B) indeterminate sentences was.

Jack Straw: The requested information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Offenders sentenced for rape offences, by result, 2004 to 2008 
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			  Rape of a female under 16  
			 Total sentenced 275 233 219 236 239 
			 Discharged 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Fined 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Community sentence 6 6 3 3 2 
			 Suspended sentence 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Immediate Custody 267 224 215 231 233 
			 Otherwise dealt with 1 3 1 2 3 
			 Average custodial sentence length (years)(1) 8.3 8.0 7.8 9.0 9.2 
			 Life sentence 16 15 15 7 14 
			 Indeterminate sentence for public protection - 1 11 28 21 
			   
			  Rape of a female 16 or over  
			 Total sentenced 325 341 383 372 381 
			 Discharged 2 0 1 0 0 
			 Fined 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Community sentence 1 2 1 0 2 
			 Suspended sentence 0 1 0 1 1 
			 Immediate Custody 319 333 376 368 372 
			 Otherwise dealt with 3 4 5 3 6 
			 Average custodial sentence length (years)(1) 6.5 6.9 6.7 6.5 6.7 
			 Life sentence 34 33 40 21 10 
			 Indeterminate sentence for public protection - 8 72 94 84 
			   
			  Rape of a male under 16  
			 Total sentenced 28 32 15 23 14 
			 Discharged 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Fined 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Community sentence 4 4 1 2 0 
			 Suspended sentence 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Immediate Custody 24 28 14 20 13 
			 Otherwise dealt with 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Average custodial sentence length (years)(1) 7.0 7.0 6.8 7.4 8.4 
			 Life sentence 2 2 5 5 0 
			 Indeterminate sentence for public protection - 0 2 3 4 
			   
			  Rape of a male 16 or over  
			 Total sentenced 10 15 20 16 12 
			 Discharged 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Fined 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Community sentence 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Suspended sentence 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Immediate Custody 10 14 19 16 11 
			 Otherwise dealt with 0 1 1 0 1 
			 Average custodial sentence length (years)(1) 8.4 5.8 6.4 8.3 6.3 
			 Life sentence 2 0 1 1 0 
			 Indeterminate sentence for public protection - 2 5 6 2 
			  Rape of a female child under 13 by a male  
			 Total sentenced 5 58 85 91 141 
			 Discharged 0 1 1 3 1 
			 Fined 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Community sentence 1 9 16 10 13 
			 Suspended sentence 0 1 0 4 0 
			 Immediate Custody 4 45 67 73 124 
			 Otherwise dealt with 0 2 1 1 3 
			 Average custodial sentence length (years)(1) 4.8 4.9 6.3 6.1 8.1 
			 Life sentence 0 4 2 2 3 
			 Indeterminate sentence for public protection - 0 19 14 29 
			   
			  Rape of a male child under 13 by a male  
			 Total sentenced 1 14 32 38 33 
			 Discharged 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Fined 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Community sentence 1 4 11 8 9 
			 Suspended sentence 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Immediate Custody 0 10 19 28 22 
			 Otherwise dealt with 0 0 2 2 2 
			 Average custodial sentence length (years)(1) - 4.2 4.0 4.2 6.2 
			 Life sentence 0 0 3 1 2 
			 Indeterminate sentence for public protection - 0 3 9 7 
			 (1 )Average custodial sentence length (years) excludes life/indeterminate sentences.  Notes: 1. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. 2. These data have been taken from the Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings database. These data are presented on the principal offence basis. Where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the heaviest sentence was imposed. Where the same sentence has been imposed for two or more offences the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe.  Source:  Justice Statistics-Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	
		
			  All IPP or DPP sentenced for rape 2004( 1)  to 2009 
			  Sentence date  Total  Average tariff years 
			 2005 19 3.6 
			 2006 147 3.9 
			 2007 190 4.4 
			 2008 163 4.5 
			 2009 157 5.1 
			 Totals 676 4.3 
		
	
	
		
			  All life sentenced prisoners sentenced for rape 2004 to 2009 
			  Sentence date  Total  Average tariff years 
			 2004 62 6.3 
			 2005 61 5.7 
			 2006 69 6.2 
			 2007 47 6.6 
			 2008 27 7.7 
			 2009 17 7.3 
			 Totals 283 6.6 
			 (1 )Indeterminate sentences for public protection introduced from 2005.  Notes: 1. There were a total of 959 sentences of Rape Section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, Rape (section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956) and Rape of a Child Under 13 (section 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003) reported to NOMS and recorded on PPUD from the period 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2009. 2. There are a total of eight tariffs unavailable because they have not been set yet, the warrant is not available or the offender received a whole life tariff. These relate to four IPPs and four life sentenced prisoners.  3. These are included in figures to show how many were sentenced in each financial year but have been removed for the purpose of the tariff calculation. 4. The figures were taken from the Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD) in the National Offender Management Service, and, as with any large scale recording system, it is subject to possible errors arising from either data entry or processing. The PPUD is a live database, updated on a regular basis. As a result, snapshots taken in consecutive days will contain differences reflecting updates.

Robbery: Poole

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in each age group in Poole were convicted of robbery in each year since 1997.

Claire Ward: Information showing the number of persons found guilty of robbery in the Dorset police force area, by age group, from 1997 to 2008 (latest available) is shown in the following table.
	Court proceedings data are not available at parliamentary constituency level, therefore data have been provided in the table for the Dorset police force area in which the constituency of Poole is situated.
	Data for 2009 are planned for publication in the autumn, 2010.
	
		
			  Number of persons found guilty at all courts for robbery( 1 ) offences in the Dorset police force area, by age group, from 1997 to 2008( 2,3) 
			  Persons  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 10 to 17 6 10 7 16 7 17 8 9 7 15 6 9 
			 18 to 20 5 5 5 6 4 10 11 6 8 7 6 7 
			 21 and over 12 22 15 17 15 27 25 22 15 18 16 21 
			 Total 23 37 27 39 26 54 44 37 30 40 28 37 
			 (1) Includes robbery and assaults with intent to rob under the Theft Act 1968 S.8.  (2) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.  (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.   Source:  Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.

HOME DEPARTMENT

62 South Eaton Place

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the evidence given to the Home Affairs Select Committee by Mr. Sebastian Conran, Home Office Design and Technology Alliance on 2 February 2010, if he will commission a home security assessment to include in the home information pack for the sale of the Government House, South Eaton Place.

Phil Woolas: There is no requirement for a home security assessment to be included in a home information pack.

Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of completed applications for representation on form EEA1 were dealt with within service standards in each month since January 2009.

Phil Woolas: The percentage (rounded to the nearest whole number) of complete EEA applications decided within the service standard for each month since January 2009 was as follows:
	January 2009: 5 per cent.
	February 2009: 4 per cent.
	March 2009: 4 per cent.
	April 2009: 12 per cent.
	May 2009: 33 per cent.
	June 2009: 91 per cent.
	July 2009: 82 per cent.
	August 2: 79 per cent.
	September 2009: 33 per cent.
	October 2009: 46 per cent.
	November 2009: 46 per cent.
	December 2009: 56 per cent.
	Please note that these are not national statistics.
	It should be noted that UKBA's Case Information Database does not differentiate between single EEA1 applications and those linked to a related EEA2 (family member) application, the figures above include all linked EEA2 cases.

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of those convicted of an offence of selling alcohol to a minor received  (a) a fine,  (b) a community sentence,  (c) a custodial sentence and  (d) an alternative punishment in England and Wales in each year since 1998; and what the (i) lowest, (ii) highest and (iii) average fine was in each such year.

Alan Johnson: The disposals for those convicted of an offence selling alcohol to a minor are set out within Table 1. The average, maximum and minimum fines in relation to sales to a minor are set out in Table 2.
	
		
			  Sentences for offences of selling alcohol to a minor, 1998  to  2008 
			   1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			  Sale of alcohol to person under 18( 1)
			 Total sentenced (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 15 21 317 479 320 
			 Discharge (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 2 4 36 50 27 
			 Fine (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 13 17 278 425 287 
			 Community sentence (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0 0 0 4 0 
			 Otherwise dealt with (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0 0 3 0 6 
			  Proportion
			 Discharge (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 13.3 19.0 11.4 10.4 8.4 
			 Fine (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 86.7 81.0 87.7 88.7 89.7 
			 Community sentence (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.8 0.0 
			 Otherwise dealt with (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0.0 0.0 0.9 0.0 1.9 
			 
			  Allowing sale of alcohol to person under 18( 3)
			 Total sentenced (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0 0 11 6 16 
			 Discharge (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 1 0 2 
			 Fine (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 10 6 14 
			 Community sentence (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0 0 0 
			 Otherwise dealt with (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0 0 0 
			  Proportion
			 Discharge (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 9.1 0.0 12.5 
			 Fine (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 90.9 100.0 87.5 
			 Community sentence (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Otherwise dealt with (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 
			  Selling etc. intoxicating liquor to persons under 18 for consumption on the premises( 4,5)
			 Total sentenced 157 115 56 53 105 416 590 742 526 40 23 
			 Discharge 28 20 10 11 25 62 65 77 85 3 0 
			 Fine 129 95 46 42 80 353 519 662 438 37 21 
			 Community sentence 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Otherwise dealt with 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 3 3 0 2 
			  Proportion
			 Discharge 17.8 17.4 17.9 20.8 23.8 14.9 11.0 10.4 16.2 7.5 0.0 
			 Fine 82.2 82.6 82.1 79.2 76.2 84.9 88.0 89.2 83.3 92.5 91.3 
			 Community sentence 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Otherwise dealt with 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 1.0 0.4 0.6 0.0 8.7 
			 
			  Wholesaler selling intoxicating liquor to a person under 18( 6)
			 Total sentenced 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 9 0 0 0 
			 Discharge 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 3 0 0 0 
			 Fine 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 0 0 0 
			 Community sentence 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Otherwise dealt with 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Proportion
			 Discharge 0 (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 100 33.3 33.3 (2)- (2)- (2)- 
			 Fine 100 (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0 66.7 66.7 (2)- (2)- (2)- 
			 Community sentence 0 (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0 0.0 0.0 (2)- (2)- (2)- 
			 Otherwise dealt with 0 (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0 0.0 0.0 (2)- (2)- (2)- 
			 
			  Persistently selling alcohol to children( 7)
			 Total sentenced (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0 0 7 
			 Discharge (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 3 
			 Fine (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 4 
			 Community sentence (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0 
			 Otherwise dealt with (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0 
			  Proportion
			 Discharge (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 42.9 
			 Fine (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 57.1 
			 Community sentence (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0.0 
			 Otherwise dealt with (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 0.0 
			 (1) S.146 Licensing Act 2003.  (2 )Not applicable.  (3) S.147 Licensing Act 2003.  (4) SS.169A  169B Licensing Act 1964 as amended by Licensing (Young Persons) Act 2000.  (5) Prior to the Licensing Act 2003 sale of alcohol to a person under 18 for consumption off the premises was included under this statute.  (6) S.181A (1) Licensing Act 1964 as added by Licensing Act 1988 S.17.  (7) S.147A Licensing Act 2003 as added by Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006.   Note:   1. The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were sentenced. When a defendant has been sentenced for two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.  2. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.   Source: Justice Statistics-Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice. Ref: SENT(JSAS)040-10 (15/02/2010). 
		
	
	
		
			  Average, maximum and minimum fines for offences of selling alcohol to a minor, 1998  to  2008 
			  £ 
			   1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			  Sale of alcohol to person under 18( 1)
			 Average fine (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 205.8 250.6 323.9 375.3 378.3 
			 Minimum fine (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 75 100 10 15 30 
			 Maximum fine (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 450 500 2,000 3,000 4,250 
			 
			  Allowing sale of alcohol to person under 18( 3)
			 Average fine (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 275.5 466.7 602.7 
			 Minimum fine (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 60 200 50 
			 Maximum fine (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 750 1,000 4,000 
			 
			  Selling etc. intoxicating liquor to persons under 18 for consumption on the premises( 4,5)
			 Average fine 212.3 194.5 206.4 208.2 249.4 253.2 238.2 245.9 293.5 275.7 376.0 
			 Minimum fine 25 25 50 40 50 20 25 25 10 25 100 
			 Maximum fine 900 600 500 750 1,000 1,000 (6)2,000 (6)2,500 (6)2,000 1,000 1,000 
			 
			  Wholesaler selling intoxicating liquor to a person under 18( 7)
			 Average fine 50 (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 160 233.3 (2)- (2)- (2)- 
			 Minimum fine 50 (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 150 100 (2)- (2)- (2)- 
			 Maximum fine 50 (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 170 500 (2)- (2)- (2)- 
			 
			  Persistently selling alcohol to children( 8)
			 Average fine (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 1,712.5 
			 Minimum fine (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 100 
			 Maximum fine (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- (2)- 3,750 
			 (1) S.146 Licensing Act 2003.  (2 )Not applicable.  (3) S.147 Licensing Act 2003.  (4) SS.169A and 169B Licensing Act 1964 as amended by Licensing (Young Persons) Act 2000.  (5) Prior to the Licensing Act 2003 sale of alcohol to a person under 18 for consumption off the premises was included under this statute.  (6) The statutory maximum fine for this offence is £1,000. These figures are likely to be errors in the recording of either the fine amount or the offence committed.  (7) S.181A (1) Licensing Act 1964 as added by Licensing Act 1988 S.17.  (8) S.147A Licensing Act 2003 as added by Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006.   Notes:   1. The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were sentenced. When a defendant has been sentenced for two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.  2. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.   Source:  Justice Statistics-Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice. Ref: SENT(JSAS)040-10 (15/02/2010).

Antisocial Behaviour: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many curfew orders have been issued for anti-social behaviour in  (a) Essex and  (b) Southend since inception of such orders.

Alan Campbell: Curfew orders were introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 1991. Section 37 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 allows the courts to impose curfew orders on offenders. The offences for which curfew orders are made are classified by statute and no further circumstances of the offences are collected centrally. Antisocial behaviour is not a statutory classification.
	Data for curfew orders are not available below criminal justice system (CJS) area level. The available information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Curfew( 1)  orders issued in criminal courts in Essex criminal justice area, all offences, 1998  to  2008 
			   Number 
			 1998 0 
			 1999 0 
			 2000 10 
			 2001 16 
			 2002 51 
			 2003 121 
			 2004 187 
			 2005 200 
			 2006 182 
			 2007 181 
			 2008 121 
			 (1) Curfew orders under S.38 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000.   Notes:  1. These figures do not include community orders imposed with a curfew requirement.  2. Data held by the Ministry shows the number of curfew orders issued for criminal offences and the specific statute and offence that was committed. Antisocial behaviour covers a wide range of criminal and non-criminal acts. It is not possible for the Ministry to decide which offences are defined as 'antisocial'.  3. The data are presented on the principal offence basis, when a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.  4. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns. the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.   Source:   Justice Statistics-Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice.

Asylum: Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations have been received by  (a) his Department and  (b) the UK Border Agency from local authorities on funding in respect of asylum seekers.

Phil Woolas: We have regular meetings and correspondence with local authorities and the Local Government Association about the funding of support arrangements for unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC), former UASC and other asylum seekers or failed asylum seekers supported by local authorities.

Asylum: Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding the UK Border Agency allocated to each local authority in respect of asylum seekers in 2008-09.

Phil Woolas: UK Border Agency funds local authorities for caring for unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) or, in certain circumstances, the same children once they reach 18 years of age. The funding paid to local authorities in respect of UASC and former UASC in 2008-09 is set out as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 UASC Grant 136,349,113 
			 Leaving Care 14,470,259 
		
	
	The full terms of this year's grant and the eligibility criteria can be found at:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/workingwithasylumseekers/localauthoritygrants/

Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what legislative arrangements apply to the capture, storage and use of number plate recognition images by law enforcement agencies;
	(2)  how many number plate recognition images were stored by  (a) the police force,  (b) national police agencies and  (c) his Department on the latest date for which figures are available.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 4 March 2010
	 Data derived from the use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) is subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. Practice Advice on the Management and Use of ANPR is issued to chief officers by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers. A copy of the Practice Advice is available at:
	http://www.acpo.police.uk/asp/policies/data/ANPR_genesis.pdf
	The National ANPR Programme Board is currently examining the benefits of any further regulatory framework and is expected to report later this year.
	On 2 March 2010, 10,674,058 ANPR reads by the police service were registered with the National ANPR Data Centre. The centre is managed by the NPIA on behalf of police forces.

Biometrics

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has plans to open new biometric enrolment centres.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 25 February 2010
	The contract which the UK Border Agency has with Post Office Ltd. allows for eight post offices to be added to the pilot in the financial year 2010-11. No decision has yet been taken on whether to take up this option.
	The Identity and Passport Service's (IPS) current planning assumptions allow for the provision of biometric enrolment centres during 2012. These will be delivered both through IPS offices as in-house services, and also by third party concession arrangements with one or more partners.
	In the meantime the system currently in use by IPS for identity card enrolment for British citizens will continue to be incrementally rolled out, taking account of public demand and how we can achieve maximum benefit for the UK and its residents.

Counter-Terrorism: Expenditure

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information his Department collects on expenditure by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) on work on counter-terrorism, with particular reference to expenditure by ACPO's Terrorism and Allied Matters Committee on the provision of accommodation in London for use by members of ACPO.

David Hanson: ACPO (TAM) advises Government on how to tackle serious and ongoing terrorist threats, coordinating the strategic policing response and providing leadership to police forces on national counter-terrorism policing matters. This includes advice to the Home Office on the distribution of Counter-Terrorism Specific Grant funding across the police counter-terrorism network. In addition, ACPO (TAM) has developed a programme management structure to coordinate the delivery of a major national up-lift in the police's counter-terrorism capability. For 2009-10 the Home Office provided funding totalling £32.8 million to ACPO (TAM) to fulfil this role through the Counter Terrorism Specific Grant for England and Wales.
	The growth in counter-terrorism policing work has led to an increase in the number of staff seconded from forces across the UK to ACPO (TAM) headquarters in London. Accommodation for staff on secondment is agreed by ACPO (TAM) with the seconding force, in line with Home Office guidance on conditions of service for police officers on secondment. The total cost of flats in 2009-10 for ACPO (TAM) staff in London was £1.56 million.
	The Home Office receives regular management information from ACPO (TAM) including information relating to expenditure by ACPO (TAM) headquarters. The Home Office and ACPO (TAM) work closely on funding matters and will continue to drive value for money improvements in counter-terrorism policing work and to identify any potential efficiencies for 2010-11 and beyond. Furthermore, as a registered company, ACPO's accounts are subject to audit, which includes whether funds have been used for the purposes intended.

Crime: Alcoholic Drinks

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what percentage of recorded crime in each local authority area was attributable to the effects of alcohol in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many  (a) crimes,  (b) violent crimes and  (c) sexual crimes were attributable to the effects of alcohol in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

Alan Campbell: The information requested is not available centrally. It is not possible to determine the number of offences which were attributable to the effects of alcohol from the police recorded crime data collected by the Home Office.

Departmental Contracts

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many jobs formerly undertaken by staff of his Department have been outsourced to external companies in each of the last five years; and to which companies.

Phil Woolas: In the last five years, no jobs formerly undertaken by staff in the Home Department (excluding its agencies) have been outsourced to external companies.

Departmental Information Officers

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many press and communications officers and staff were employed by his Department at what cost in each year since 1997; and how many briefings his Department has held for the media in each such year.

Alan Johnson: The following table provides the information requested on the numbers of Press Officers, Communications Officers and staff working in the Communication Directorate in the central Home Office and their costs.
	
		
			   Press officers  Communications officers  Staff 
			   Number  Cost (£)  Number  Cost (£)  Number  Cost (£) 
			 2004-05 43 1,964,000 15 824,528 114 5,688,912 
			 2005-06 34 1,616,410 21 1,235,501 106 4,932,931 
			 2006-07 35 1,954,405 19.5 1,165,819 110 5,224,040 
			 2007-08 (1)39 1,554,863 21 1,183,028 (1)95 4,626,997 
			 2008-09 (2)42.89 1,583,488 28 1,722,952 99 4,627,967 
			 (1) Machinery of Government changes May 2007, 11 press officer and seven correspondence posts transferred to the Ministry of Justice. The total also includes six Borders and Immigration Agency Regional Press Officers; whose posts were created in 2007. (2) This includes six Regional Press Officers (full time equivalents) who are employed regionally by UKBA who undertake work for UKBA which includes tasks which transferred through Machinery of Government changes from HMRC. 
		
	
	Information has been provided for the years held; further data could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
	There is no central record of the numerous media briefings conducted by ministers and/or senior officials as the vast majority of these are largely done on an ad hoc and routine basis. The only central record we have is for the number of formal briefings/press conferences or external events that accompany major announcements where a formal operational note inviting the media is issued. These figures are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2005 48 
			 2006 59 
			 2007 35 
			 2008 31 
			 2009 43 
			 2010 (1)10 
			 (1) To date.

Departmental Manpower

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many layers of management reporting from the most senior to the most junior there are in his Department and each of its agencies; how many officials are employed in each such layer; and how much was spent on salaries and associated employment costs of staff at each such layer in the latest year for which information is available.

Phil Woolas: Table 1 shows the numbers of staff at each level of management for the Home Office and its agencies. The number of layers in any individual management line will vary according to the function. Typically a big operational area with large numbers of staff will have more management layers than a policy function.
	Further breakdown of costs by grade is not readily available and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Table 1: Responsibility level (FTE)( 1, 2, 3)  for executive officers to senior civil servants 
			   Senior management  Other Management 
			   Senior civil service  Grades 6 and 7  Senior and higher executive officers  Executive officers 
			 Home Office 
			 Home Office (excl agencies)(4) 150 710 1,100 520 
			 UK Border Agency 50 560 3,610 6,940 
			 Criminal Records Bureau 10 20 90 150 
			 Identity and Passport Service 20 140 540 960 
			 (1 )Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. (2 )With the exception of the senior civil service, Government Departments have delegated pay and grading. For statistical purposes Departments are asked to map their grades to a common framework by responsibility level. (3 )This table shows staff in their substantive responsibility level unless on temporary promotion in which case staff are recorded at the higher responsibility level. (4 )Includes Government office for the regions employees.

Departmental Manpower

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employees in  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies are in transition prior to being managed out; how long on average the transition window between notification and exit has been in (i) his Department and (ii) each of its agencies in each of the last five years; what estimate he has made of the salary costs of staff in transition in each such year; and what proportion of employees in transition were classed as being so for more than six months in each year.

Phil Woolas: We do not hold information in the form requested. Tables 1 to 5 provide information for the Home Office and its agencies on the numbers of staff in the Home Office's redeployment network and the proportion surplus for over six months.
	
		
			  Table 1: Surplus staff, Home Office headquarters 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Total number entered Redeployment Network 96 85 121 108 54 
			 Redeployment Network 6+ 32 20 23 12 (1)- 
			 (1) Fewer than 5. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Surplus staff, UKBA 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Total number entered Redeployment Network n/a n/a n/a 44 166 
			 Redeployment Network 6+ n/a n/a n/a 19 12 
			 n/a = not available. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Surplus staff, IPS 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Total number entered Redeployment Network 0 0 0 0 (1)- 
			 Redeployment Network 6+ 0 0 0 0 0 
			 (1) Fewer than 5. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Surplus staff, CRB 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Total number entered Redeployment Network 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Redeployment Network 6+ 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 5: Proportion of employees in redeployment pool for more than six months each year 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Dept total n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 IPS 0 0 0 0 (1)- 
			 CRB 0 0 0 0 0 
			 UKBA n/a n/a n/a 0.10 0.07 
			 Home Office HQ 1.07 0.67 0.77 0.40 (1)- 
			 n/a = not available.  (1) Redacted as total is fewer than 5.   Note:  Headcount for HQ has been calculated excluding HM Prison Service/NOMS which was part of HO until 2006-07: this is to avoid distorting year on year data.

Departmental Public Opinion

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department has spent on  (a) focus groups and  (b) other deliberative forms of public opinion research in each of the last 10 years.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 1 March 2010
	 The information requested is not available.

Departmental Theft

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many thefts from his Department have been recorded in the last two years.

Phil Woolas: There is no centralised reporting mechanism for recording of reported thefts in the Home Department. To gather the information required would incur disproportionate costs.

Deportation: Democratic Republic of Congo

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will investigate recent reports of the treatment of asylum seekers who are returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo against their will.

Phil Woolas: The UK Border Agency will investigate specific allegations that returnees to any country have experienced ill-treatment on return from the UK. Neither the UK Border Agency nor the independent courts have found credible evidence that unsuccessful asylum claimants involuntarily returned to Democratic Republic of Congo have faced ill-treatment upon return.

Detection Rates

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of trends in police detection rates in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: From 1 April 2007 the rules governing recording of non-sanction detections were revised to reduce the scope within which they can be claimed to a very small limited set of circumstances. This has significantly reduced the number of non-sanction detections which has been reflected in the overall detection rates.
	The Home Office now uses 'sanction detections' as the preferred measure for detections data.
	Sanction detections are offences which are cleared up through a formal sanction against an offender i.e. by an offender being charged or summonsed, cautioned, having an offence taken into consideration, receiving a penalty notice for disorder or receiving a warning for cannabis possession.
	The sanction detection rate was 20 per cent. in 2004-05. The rate then rose in successive years between 2004-05 and 2007-08 when it was 28 per cent. The sanction detection rate remained at 28 per cent. in 2008-09, a rise of eight percentage points over the 2004-05 figure.

Detention Centres: Children

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children  (a) entered and  (b) left immigration detention between April and December 2009; and how many of those who left detention in that period were (i) deported and (ii) released.

Phil Woolas: Published management information indicates that 830 children entered detention solely under Immigration Act powers between April and December 2009 and 860 children left detention held solely under Immigration Act powers during the same period. Within these statistics, it is not possible to separately identify how many of the children were removed from the UK or released upon leaving detention. However, published National Statistics indicate that a total of 415 children were removed from the UK upon leaving detention solely under Immigration Act powers in the same period. As usual, figures are provisional and are rounded to the nearest five. Children are those individuals recorded as being under 18 years of age at the start and the end of their period of detention respectively and may have been detained more than once during that time.
	This information has been extracted from the text and the tables of the Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary, United Kingdom-2nd to 4th Quarter 2009 publications which are available from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

Disadvantaged

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many schemes aimed at  (a) improving parenting skills,  (b) supporting dysfunctional families and  (c) providing diversionary activities for young people at risk of offending his Department has introduced since 1997; how much has been spent on such schemes; and how much has been provided to local authorities in ring-fenced funding for each such scheme.

Alan Campbell: In relation to parts  (a) and  (b), these issues fall within the remit of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, who provided a response on 2 March 2010,  Official Report, columns 1172-73W.
	In response to part  (c), the Home Office-funded Positive Futures programme was launched in 2001 and aims to prevent young people from becoming involved in substance misuse, crime and antisocial behaviour by engaging them in sport and arts based activities and supporting them to access education, training, employment and volunteering opportunities. The programme is delivered locally by a range of partners including local authorities and local and national third sector providers.
	Total Home Office expenditure on the Positive Futures programmes is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Positive Futures programmes: Funding 
			  £ 
			  Outturn expenditure  
			 2004-05 6,240,990 
			 2005-06 5,812,928 
			 2006-07 5,832,101 
			 2007-08 6,007,641 
			 2008-09 5,988,469 
			   
			  Budget  
			 2009-10 5,999,000 
			  Note: Expenditure from previous years and a breakdown of individual grants to local authorities is not available without disproportionate cost.  Source: Home Office Accounting System 
		
	
	In addition, in May 2004, the Home Office set up the Connected Fund, which provided small grants to local community organisations working primarily with young people and included work such as mentoring projects and diversionary activities. Over six rounds of funding, a total of £1.75 million was disbursed to 400 community organisations. However, it is not possible to disaggregate the amount of funding which was specifically used to support diversionary activities.
	From 2009-10, we have made available £4.5million over three years to 150 organisations working to divert young people from gun, gang and knife crime through the Community Fund.
	In December 2008, the Home Office launched a £500,000 funding stream for 2009-10 of the Youth Sector Development Fund, aimed at organisations working specifically with young people most at risk of becoming involved in gang and knife crime.

Domestic Violence

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Islwyn of 12 January 2010,  Official Report, column 849W, on domestic violence, what timetable has been set for  (a) funding for national helplines, multi-agency risk assessment conferences, independent domestic violence advisers and other domestic violence related services  (b) the development of an online directory of violence against women and girls services; and when those services will be operational.

Alan Campbell: As soon as the formal budget delegation has been received we will be able to make announcements in relation to funding for national helplines, MARACs and IDVAs. The announcement will be made by the end of March at the latest.
	We are still working with other Government Departments and the sector to scope out the most effective model for the online directory of services and will set out a timetable for delivery when we have determined what the model should be.

Domestic Violence

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Islwyn of 12 January 2010,  Official Report, column 849W, on domestic violence, whether his Department uses methods other than the British Crime Survey to gather information about domestic violence.

Alan Campbell: The Home Office collects the following information about domestic violence:
	Total number of reported domestic violence incidents (by police force area)
	Number of incidents of reported domestic violence that involved victims of a reported domestic violence incident in the previous 12 months (by police force area)
	Information from Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARAC) which includes the number of cases and repeat rate of victimisation (from each MARAC)
	Number of homicides which gives figures by relationship between victim and suspect.
	Ad-hoc social research projects are commissioned by the Home Office from time-to-time to inform the development and assessment of policy and practice on domestic violence. Typically these employ a mix of methods and often include qualitative interviews with victims and practitioners as well as the analysis of administrative data. Copies of Home Office social research reports can be found online at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.html

Domestic Violence: Forced Marriage

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on provision of transport to refuges for victims of domestic violence or honour-related violence; and what mechanisms are in place to ensure that local authorities comply with that guidance.

Alan Campbell: Guidance has not been issued to local authorities on procuring transport for victims of domestic violence or honour-related violence.

Driving Under Influence

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motorists were  (a) stopped on suspicion and  (b) prosecuted for drink driving in 2009.

Alan Campbell: Information is not collected centrally on how many motorists were stopped on suspicion of drink driving. Information on breath tests held by the Home Office covers the number of screening breath tests carried out and of which number of positive/refused. This information is broken down by police force area level only. Please see chapter 4 of our most recent publication of Police Powers and Procedures 07/08 for number of screening breath tests. See following link:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/police-powers.html
	The Home Office advise that data for 2009 are planned for publication in April 2010.
	Information held by the Ministry of Justice deals with court proceedings for drink drive offences. The Ministry of Justice advise that data for 2009 are planned to be published in the autumn, 2010. The number of proceedings at magistrates courts for drink driving offences in 2008 (latest available) can be found in Criminal Statistics England and Wales 2008 volume 6, table S6.1, supplementary volumes, Court proceedings offences relating to motor vehicles published on the Ministry of Justice website. See following link:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/criminalannual.htm

Entry Clearances

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the visa issued on behalf of Mr. Abdul Manan Saleh by the UK Border Agency on 19 November 2009 to be available for collection.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 26 February 2010
	The visa for Mr. Abdul Manan Saleh was printed on 1 March and his passport returned to our commercial partner, Gerry's, for collection by the applicant.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what effect the withdrawal of accreditation as a bona fide institution offering courses for overseas students from a private college has upon the immigration status of students studying at that college.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 3 February 2010
	 Withdrawal of accreditation from a private college that has been granted a Tier 4 Sponsor Licence by the UK Border Agency will lead to the revocation of their Sponsor Licence. Students studying at the college will then be afforded a maximum of 60 calendar days, to find another course with a registered Tier 4 sponsor. If at the end of this period they have not found a place on a new course they will have to leave the United Kingdom or face enforced removal.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who has responsibility for monitoring and enforcing the present 20 hour limit on work by overseas students; who will have the responsibility of monitoring and enforcing the 10 hours limit on work by overseas students proposed to be introduced on 3 March; and whether additional enforcement or monitoring duties will fall on the higher education institution accepting such students following implementation of the proposed changes.

Phil Woolas: It is the responsibility of all UK employers to establish that their employees have the legal right to work in the UK and to undertake the work in question before commencing that employment. The responsibility for monitoring the current 20 hour limit and the new 10 hour limit on employment therefore rests with employers who should only employ migrants who have the required permission to work, and employers should not offer employment in excess of an overseas student's permitted hours.
	It is the responsibility of the UK Border Agency to enforce compliance with the immigration rules, including compliance with any restrictions on employment.
	No additional enforcement or monitoring duties fall on the higher education institutions accepting such students, except in the event that they are employers of these overseas students. The new 10 hour work limit will apply to all students following courses of study below degree level, excluding those who are on foundation degree courses, as outlined in the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (HC367) laid before the House on 10 February 2010.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have received a student visa sponsored by a language college which has subsequently been identified by his Department as bogus in each year since 2006.

Phil Woolas: Prior to the launch of tier 4 on 31 March 2009 educational institutions were not required to be registered as sponsors with the UK Border Agency and it is therefore not possible to say how many bogus language colleges were in existence. Information about the number of overseas students attending such colleges is therefore not available.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people entering the UK on a false student visa have been identified and deported in  (a) each of the last three years and  (b) 2010 to date.

Phil Woolas: Information regarding the number of people attempting to enter the UK by presenting false student visas could be obtained by analysing each individual case record, only at disproportionate cost.

Entry Clearances: Pakistan

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the refusal rate was for visitor applications from Islamabad in  (a) the latest period for which figures are available and  (b) each of the last two years.

Phil Woolas: The refusal rates for visit visa applications lodged in Pakistan in 2008 and 2009 were 39 per cent. and 67 per cent., respectively.

Forced Marriages

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the recommendations made in the Home Affairs Committee's Sixth Report of Session 2007-08, on Domestic Violence, Forced Marriage and 'Honour-based' Violence, HC 263, were accepted by the Government; of those accepted by the Government, what proportion have been implemented; by what date he expects those accepted but not yet implemented to be implemented; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: The Government's responses (23 July and 30 September 2008) to the recommendations made in the Home Affairs Committee's report on domestic violence, forced marriage and honour-based violence are available at:
	www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmhaff/cmhaff.htm
	We understand that the Committee is reviewing all of the recommendations it has made in the last five years. We have contributed to this exercise and our update reflects the latest information on implementation and progress.

Homicide: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been murdered in  (a) Southend and  (b) Essex in each year since 1997.

Alan Campbell: Available data are from the recorded crime series and relate to homicides recorded by the Southend community safety partnership (CSP; formerly known as crime and disorder reduction partnership) and Essex police force area up to and including 2008-09. Recorded crime data at CSP level are only available from 2000-01.
	
		
			  Recorded offences of homicide, Southend CSP and Essex police force area, 1997-98 to 2008-09 
			   Southend CSP( 1)  Essex PFA 
			 1997-98 - 16 
			 1998-99 - 14 
			 1999-2000 - 20 
			 2000-01 - 15 
			 2001-02 - 24 
			 2002-03 6 22 
			 2003-04 2 12 
			 2004-05 4 13 
			 2005-06 5 21 
			 2006-07 1 23 
			 2007-08 1 15 
			 2008-09 1 12 
			 (1) Community safety partnerships (CSPs) were formerly known as crime and disorder reduction partnerships (CDRPs). Data at this level are only available from 2002-03.  Note: Data are from the recorded crime series and are on a different basis to data held on the Homicide Index.

Human Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons identified as possible victims of trafficking by the UK Border Agency or by their legal representative were placed in the detention fast-track system between 1 April and 31 December 2009; how many of them were subsequently released; and for what reason each was released.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 1 March 2010
	Between 1 April 2009 and 31 December 2009 competent authorities found reasonable grounds to believe nine individuals in the detained fast track system were victims of trafficking. In all of the nine cases the individuals were subsequently taken out of the detained fast track process for this reason.
	There is currently no record of individuals entering or being included in the detained fast track after receiving a positive reasonable grounds decision.
	Legal representatives are not among the group of designated first responders under the National Referral Mechanism and we therefore do not record cases where solely a legal representative considers someone to be a victim of trafficking.

Human Trafficking: Children

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the merits of appointing an independent National Rapporteur on Trafficking with a special focus on children.

Alan Campbell: The Government have considered the benefits of appointing an independent national rapporteur for child trafficking but believes the current system of having an Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking supported and challenged by the Trafficking NGO Stakeholder Group provide appropriate forums for scrutiny and challenge of both policy and practice of tackling human trafficking and supporting trafficking victims. Child Trafficking features heavily in both these forums and the UK Government's action plan includes 15 child specific actions to improve safeguarding of trafficked children.

Human Trafficking: Children

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the merits of introducing a system of guardianship for child victims of trafficking.

Alan Campbell: Protection and support for child trafficking victims is paramount and the Government have considered this issue carefully. However the Government do not believe that guardians for trafficked children would enhance the protection and support available to trafficked children over and above the existing safeguarding and support arrangements that are in place at a local level. The Government believe that this responsibility should remain with the local authorities who have a statutory duty to ensure that they safeguard and promote the welfare of all children under Section 11 of the Children Act 2004, regardless of their immigration status or nationality. This conclusion was recognised and accepted by the Home Affairs Select Committee in its report in May 2009.

Human Trafficking: Children

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his latest estimate is of the number of child victims of trafficking in the UK.

Alan Campbell: The Government's latest estimate of the numbers of children believed to have been trafficked into the UK is 325. This estimate is taken from the strategic threat analysis carried out by the Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and published in its report in April 2009. The estimate is derived from data covering the period 1 March 2007 to 29 February 2008.

Identity Cards

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to oppose a merger of the National Identity Register into a European ID database.

Alan Johnson: The Identity Cards Act 2006 establishes the scope of the National Identity Register as a register of individuals in the United Kingdom and there are no plans to change these provisions.

Identity Cards: Cheshire

Edward Timpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for identity cards his Department has received from residents of  (a) the county of Cheshire and  (b) Crewe and Nantwich constituency since 1 January 2010.

Meg Hillier: The Identity and Passport Service is not able to provide information relating to particular constituency or county for identity card applications. However as of 3 March 2010 there have been 4,307 applications for identity cards from people living in the north-west of England, including Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and Cumbria.

Illegal Immigrants: Employment

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employers hiring illegal immigrants have had the maximum available fine per worker imposed on them in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Alan Johnson: In 2008 (1 March 2008 to 31 December 2008) no maximum civil penalties were issued by the UK Border Agency to employers of illegal migrant workers.
	In 2009 (1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009) a total of four maximum civil penalties of £10,000 per employee were issued by the UK Border Agency to employers of six illegal migrant workers. The civil penalty issued to one of these employers, which related to two employees, was cancelled at objection.
	There have been no maximum civil penalties issued in 2010 so far (1 January to 24 February).
	These data are derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and liable to change.
	
		
			  Fines imposed for employing illegal workers( 1) , 1998  to  2008 
			   1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			  Magistrates court
			 Average fine - 500 2,075 350 500 100 728 845 1,337 797 1,154 
			 Maximum fine(2) - 500 3,000 350 500 100 2.050 2,500 4,000 3,500 2,500 
			 Number fined 0 1 4 1 1 1 8 11 6 23 30 
			 
			  Crown  c ourt
			 Average fine - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2,000 0 16,123 
			 Maximum fine(3) - - - - - - - - 2,000 - 76,55 
			 Number fined 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 
			 (1) Offences under S.8 Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 or S.21 Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (2) The statutory maximum fine for an offender sentenced at the magistrates' court is £5,000 (3) There is no statutory maximum fine for an offender sentenced at the Crown court  Notes: 1. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system 2. These data are presented on the principal offence basis. Where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the heaviest sentence was imposed. Where the same sentence has been imposed for two or more offences the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe.  Source:  Justice Statistics - Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice

Immigrants: Detainees

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children under the age of  (a) 10 and  (b) five years old were being held in immigration removal centres on the latest date for which figures are available.

Alan Johnson: As at 31 December 2009, no children, defined as persons aged 17 or below, were detained in the UK solely under Immigration Act powers. This excludes children detained in Prison Service establishments' mother and baby units.

Immobilisation of Vehicles

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from Birmingham City Council on the proposals in the Crime and Security Bill relating to vehicle immobilisation businesses; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: Birmingham city council's Public Protection Committee wrote to the Home Secretary on 11 February 2010 about the proposals in the Crime and Security Bill relating to vehicle immobilisation businesses. The council also previously wrote to Home Office Ministers on three occasions since 20 December 2007 about the regulation of vehicle immobilisation business, including a response to our public consultation published in April 2009 on how best to regulate vehicle immobilisation (VI) businesses operating on private land.
	Our proposals for the regulation of vehicle immobilisation business as set out in the Crime and Security Bill will make it mandatory for all wheel clamping businesses working on private land, as well as their employees, to be licensed by the SIA under the terms of a code of practice. The conditions of the code will include a cap on fines, time limits on towing cars unreasonably quickly after being clamped and clear instructions for putting up signs warning drivers that clamping takes place. In addition, the proposals include the setting up of an independent appeals process to enable motorists to appeal where they consider that the terms of the code have been breached.
	The conditions of the code will have statutory force, and will be set out in regulations before the code is published. Failure to comply with the code, or operating without a business licence, will be a criminal offence and could result in prosecution.
	We believe our proposals under the Bill will address the issues raised by Birmingham city council in their correspondence.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to the letter of 14 January 2010 from the hon. Member for Walsall North to the UK Border Agency regarding a resident in his constituency, reference T1146229.

Phil Woolas: The Regional Director of the UK Border Agency wrote to my hon. Friend on 3 February 2010.

Personation: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how may offences involving the fraudulent use of personal information have been reported to  (a) Essex and  (b) Southend police in each year since 1997; and how many such reports led to a (i) prosecution and (ii) conviction.

Alan Campbell: The information requested is not available centrally. Offences involving the fraudulent use of personal information would be recorded under the Home Office offence classification of 'Fraud by false representation'. However, it is not possible to separately identify those offences involving the fraudulent use of personal information from other fraud offences recorded under that classification. As a result, it is not possible to state how many offences led to prosecution and conviction.

Police: Complaints

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many complaints against the police were received in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what the 10 most common causes of complaint made against the police were in each year since 1997; and how many such complaints were made in each such year.

Alan Johnson: The Home Office collated and published annual statistical information for Police Complaints and Discipline for England and Wales, until 31 March 2004.
	The totals of complaints about the police received for England and Wales in each year since 1997 are:
	
		
			   Complaints 
			 1997-98 35,834 
			 1998-99 31,653 
			 1999-2000 30,807 
			 2000-01 31,034 
			 2001-02 26,701 
			 2002-03 24,562 
			 2003-04 25,376 
		
	
	The Home Office Statistical bulletins give numbers for substantiated complaints by reason. The 10 most common causes for such complaints, and their number in each year from 1997, are contained in the following table.
	Since it came into existence on 1 April 2004, the Independent Police Complaints Commission has been responsible for the collection and analysis of police complaints statistical information.
	
		
			  Substantiated complaints by reason for complaint, England and Wales 
			  Number of complaints 
			  Reason for complaint  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04 
			 Assault 125 126 98 112 101 98 99 
			 Oppressive behaviour/harassment 53 42 62 54 56 59 46 
			 Unlawful/unnecessary arrest/detention 67 55 36 67 49 42 54 
			 Perjury/irregularity in evidence 27 22 17 24 24 38 26 
			 Mishandling of property 33 22 12 22 22 17 25 
			 Neglect of duty 237 205 228 320 325 349 372 
			 Impropriety in connection with search of premises 33 28 21 17 19 21 26 
			 Irregularity in procedure 153 131 138 154 156 140 158 
			 Incivility 78 68 64 87 92 113 110 
			 Other 27 30 15 15 28 41 28

Police: Firearms

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police-owned firearms and  (b) confiscated firearms were lost or stolen from police forces in England and Wales in 2009.

David Hanson: The information requested is not collected or held centrally by the Home Office.

Police: Manpower

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of service was for police officers serving in England and Wales between 1999 and 2009.

David Hanson: The information requested cannot be calculated from the centrally collected data within the police personnel statistics series. Length of service data are only collected in a number of fixed time bands.

Police: Vehicles

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many accidents involving police vehicles there have been in  (a) Essex and  (b) Southend in each year since 1997.

David Hanson: The available data are provided in the tables.
	Figures from 2002-03 onwards for Essex Police Force have been provided based on data held centrally in the Home Office.
	Figures for Essex county and Southend and Thurrock unitary authority for 1997 to 2008 have also been provided by the Department for Transport. These numbers do not include all police vehicles involved in accidents-only those that were involved in an accident where an individual was injured, and where the police vehicle can be matched against the DVLA records.
	As these figures are based on different definitions, they are not comparable.
	
		
			  Road traffic collisions on public roads involving police vehicles, Essex, 2002-03 to 2008-09 
			   Number 
			 2002-03 414 
			 2003-04 345 
			 2004-05 327 
			 2005-06 391 
			 2006-07 607 
			 2007-08 626 
			 2008-09 509 
			  Notes: 1. All data are unvalidated, subject to change and provided on a provisional basis only  2. Data are not available centrally for Southend. 3. Data are not available centrally prior to 2002-03. 
		
	
	
		
			  Reported personal injury road accidents involving a police vehicle1( ,2) :1997-2008 
			   Essex( 3)  Southend 
			 1997 68 7 
			 1998 55 9 
			 1999 50 6 
			 2000 78 8 
			 2001 63 12 
			 2002 53 5 
			 2003 50 3 
			 2004 51 6 
			 2005 41 5 
			 2006 56 4 
			 2007 57 3 
			 2008 51 7 
			 (1) Vehicle type is based on vehicle tax records held by DVLA. This will exclude vehicles which fall under different tax classes which may be used by the police e.g. privately hired/owned vehicles (2) Vehicle model is assigned through matching the vehicle's registration mark (registration number) against DVLA records. These vehicles are only those with a high or probable match to DVLA records (3) Essex county, including the unitary authorities of Southend and Thurrock 
		
	
	
		
			  Average (mean) and highest end-of-year performance-related, non-consolidated bonuses paid for the last four performance years. 
			  £ 
			   Average  Highest 
			 2008-09 9,225 15,000 
			 2007-08 9.952 22,000 
			 2006-07 9,577 20,000 
			 2005-06 6,868 15,000

Policing and Crime Act 2009

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to ensure that training on the implementation of Part 2 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 is cascaded to front-line officers;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to train police officers for the introduction of the Policing and Crime Act 2009, with particular reference to the use of the new powers introduced under Part 2 of that Act.

David Hanson: The National Policing Improvement Agency's (NPIA) Operational, Specialist and Leadership Training Courses are affected by the Policing and Crime Act 2009. These courses are currently being updated to cover the new legislation and accountabilities.
	All NPIA training courses and learning resources are regularly updated and reviewed by the NPIA Legal and Diversity Review Team.

Rape

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of women  (a) in each age group,  (b) in each area and  (c) of each ethnicity raped in each of the last 10 years.

Alan Campbell: Since the introduction of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in May 2004, data for offences of rape of a female have been broken down into three victim age groups. The age groups are: aged 16 and over, children under 16 and children under 13. Prior to May 2004, the Home Office had not been able to identify the age group of the victim. The data for 2004-05 to 2008-09 are shown in Table 1.
	Data for total offences of rape of a female by police force area for 1999-2000 to 2008-09 are shown in Tables 2a and 2b. The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced in April 2002 and figures before and after this date are not directly comparable. Data for 1999-2000 to 2001-02 are shown in Table 2a and data for 2002-03 to 2008-09 are shown in Table 2b.
	Information on ethnicity of victims is not held centrally.
	
		
			  Table 1: Recorded offences of rape of a female by age group, 2004-05 to 2008-09 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Rape of a female(1) 693 61 25 145 169 
			 Rape of a female aged 16 and over 8,192 8,725 8,222 7,586 7,781 
			 Rape of a female child under 16 3,014 3,153 2,853 2,413 2,532 
			 Rape of a female child under 13 970 1,388 1,524 1,485 1,647 
			 Total 12,869 13,327 12,624 11,629 12,129 
			 (1) The Sexual Offences Act 2003 introduced in May 2004 altered the definition and coverage of sexual offences. A small number of offences continue to be recorded relating to offences repealed by the Act; while these may continue to be legitimately recorded for offences prior to May 2004 it is also possible that some may have been recorded in these old categories in error, so recent changes based on small numbers should be interpreted with caution. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2a: Recorded offences of rape of a female by police force area, 1999-2000 to 2001-02 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Avon and Somerset 166 188 302 
			 Bedfordshire 92 81 89 
			 Cambridgeshire 97 102 144 
			 Cheshire 62 80 69 
			 Cleveland 45 36 54 
			 Cumbria 33 37 44 
			 Derbyshire 98 102 113 
			 Devon and Cornwall 150 168 165 
			 Dorset 61 67 108 
			 Durham 58 45 71 
			 Dyfed-Powys 49 46 46 
			 Essex 184 153 190 
			 Gloucestershire 63 85 49 
			 Greater Manchester 512 508 526 
			 Gwent 94 76 101 
			 Hampshire 228 257 279 
			 Hertfordshire 63 82 81 
			 Humberside 160 134 151 
			 Kent 131 169 171 
			 Lancashire 136 182 174 
			 Leicestershire 141 142 152 
			 Lincolnshire 51 63 103 
			 London, City of 1 2 9 
			 Merseyside 219 214 256 
			 Metropolitan police 2,142 2,044 2,336 
			 Norfolk 82 103 103 
			 Northamptonshire 42 56 91 
			 Northumbria 227 208 259 
			 North Wales 88 89 111 
			 North Yorkshire 39 46 65 
			 Nottinghamshire 210 211 227 
			 South Wales 115 115 112 
			 South Yorkshire 114 112 105 
			 Staffordshire 175 182 197 
			 Suffolk 80 94 112 
			 Surrey 72 119 110 
			 Sussex 198 237 215 
			 Thames Valley 218 245 269 
			 Warwickshire 19 25 30 
			 West Mercia 86 105 169 
			 West Midlands 481 499 553 
			 West Yorkshire 449 348 406 
			 Wiltshire 78 72 85 
			 Total 7,809 7,929 9,002 
			  Note:  The data in this table are prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2b: Recorded offences of rape of a female by police force area, 2002-03 to 2008-09 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Avon and Somerset 361 447 427 295 393 352 308 
			 Bedfordshire 116 139 149 188 141 106 158 
			 British Transport Police 11 25 39 17 16 14 22 
			 Cambridgeshire 177 216 219 193 193 198 180 
			 Cheshire 104 172 184 165 150 140 141 
			 Cleveland 96 139 135 158 125 130 122 
			 Cumbria 61 71 73 73 63 78 69 
			 Derbyshire 185 221 257 253 253 217 242 
			 Devon and Cornwall 255 303 348 361 355 360 376 
			 Dorset 128 137 149 166 115 192 155 
			 Durham 53 68 83 129 76 117 107 
			 Dyfed-Powys 44 99 94 79 92 66 71 
			 Essex 2B1 316 320 352 324 264 321 
			 Gloucestershire 109 97 105 145 150 130 134 
			 Greater Manchester 667 790 812 769 767 712 769 
			 Gwent 137 77 103 112 132 164 140 
			 Hampshire 342 439 573 618 592 549 535 
			 Hertfordshire 160 149 179 197 179 163 125 
			 Humberside 239 330 286 323 264 237 209 
			 Kent 201 268 329 413 368 379 337 
			 Lancashire 225 241 249 299 257 232 236 
			 Leicestershire 237 238 291 287 275 315 298 
			 Lincolnshire 128 156 164 169 147 154 140 
			 London, City of 3 3 7 5 8 3 1 
			 Merseyside 320 360 342 356 274 231 208 
			 Metropolitan police 2,580 2,417 2,282 2,249 2,144 1,775 2,019 
			 Norfolk 170 196 170 209 147 128 132 
			 Northamptonshire 158 144 116 152 147 138 160 
			 Northumbria 313 305 306 325 307 232 232 
			 North Wales 106 132 148 156 99 142 161 
			 North Yorkshire 126 115 132 134 128 119 150 
			 Nottinghamshire 225 273 230 236 223 209 281 
			 South Wales 174 177 165 193 240 232 271 
			 South Yorkshire 181 170 261 294 241 219 186 
			 Staffordshire 236 226 275 267 265 224 229 
			 Suffolk 143 166 169 192 161 151 164 
			 Surrey 127 138 120 135 134 144 174 
			 Sussex 327 276 414 399 413 293 343 
			 Thames Valley 335 409 377 425 411 356 414 
			 Warwickshire 59 73 83 75 93 96 99 
			 West Mercia 205 210 199 212 208 229 263 
			 West Midlands 679 747 882 856 834 748 709 
			 West Yorkshire 514 572 526 558 579 563 613 
			 Wiltshire 147 131 97 138 141 128 125 
			 Total 11,445 12,378 12,869 13,327 12,624 11,629 12,129 
			  Notes:  1. The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.  2. The data of the British Transport Police was included after the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002.

Serco

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the service standard performance of SERCO operations within his Department's Case Resolution Directorate was in each of the last three months.

Phil Woolas: The chief executive of the UK Border Agency, Lin Homer will provide the Home Affairs Select Committee, in the next update, further information on the performance of Serco within the Case Resolution Directorate.

Sexual Offences

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received recent reports on incidents of  (a) sexual violence against female gang members by male members of the same gang and  (b) sexual violence by male gang members against sisters and girlfriends of male members of rival gangs.

Alan Campbell: The Home Office does not collect individual crime reports. However, the Home Office is committed to increasing the reporting and conviction rates for rape and sexual violence, and works closely with the police and other stakeholders to ensure that women who have been victims of sexual violence come forward and, when they do, these crimes are investigated fully. As part of our drive to tackle sexual violence and ensure that victims are well supported we have been increasing the number of Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) and continuing to support Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) to aid police investigations and to provide good quality support to victims. In 2010-11 the Home Office will be spending approximately £2 million to supplement local funding for SARCs and ISVAs, bringing the total investment over the past six years to £14 million.
	The Home Office also recently funded the launch of the Female Voice in Violence report by Race on the Agenda (ROTA), which examined the involvement of girls and young women in gangs. While the vast majority of victims and perpetrators of gang violence are men, there is a distinct and serious issue of young women's involvement with gangs as the ROTA report highlights. In recognition of the importance of this issue, the Home Office has already provided funding for a number of intelligence gathering and good practice events and are now looking at how the experience, knowledge and resources highlighted can be shared and developed.

Terrorism Act 2000: Stop and Search

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were stopped and searched under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09.

David Hanson: The information requested covering 2007-08 and 2008-09 is provided in the following tables.
	The data provided covering 2008-09 should be considered as provisional, fully verified data for 2008-09 will be published by the Home Office in the annual statistical report 'Police Powers and Procedures', which is scheduled to be published in April 2010.
	
		
			  Table 3c: Searches of pedestrians, vehicles and occupants under sections 44( 1)  and 44( 2)  of the Terrorism Act 2000 
			   2007-08 
			   Q1  Q2  Q3  Q4  Total 
			 Essex 66 238 773 631 1.708 
			 Greater Manchester 0 172 9 0 181 
			 Hampshire 470 1,182 475 435 2,562 
			 Lancashire 0 510 0 0 510 
			 London, City of 679 1,065 516 413 2,673 
			 Merseyside 0 652 5 1 658 
			 Metropolitan Police 7,508 28,865 28,943 36,435 101,751 
			 South Wales 1,119 596 856 525 3,096 
			 Surrey 645 585 654 675 2,559 
			 Sussex(2) 238 487 310 310 1,345 
			 Thames Valley 55 115 25 47 242 
			 West Midlands 0 332 0 0 332 
			 Other Forces(3) 132 488 193 193 1,006 
			   
			 England and Wales 10,912 35,287 32,759 39,665 118,623 
			   
			 BTP(4) 8,902 26,789 17,759 16,185 69,635 
			   
			 Scotland(5) - 32 0 7 39 
			   
			 Great Britain 19,814 62,108 50,518 55,857 188,297 
		
	
	
		
			   2008-09 (provisional data) 
			   Q1  Q2  Q3  Q4  Total 
			 Essex 776 260 602 748 2,386 
			 Greater Manchester 0 823 249 92 1,164 
			 Hampshire 633 416 441 95 1,585 
			 Lancashire 0 0 0 0 0 
			 London City of 468 607 834 676 2,585 
			 Merseyside 6 42 6 21 75 
			 Metropolitan Police 39,049 43,736 54,631 47,670 185,086 
			 South Wales 662 539 222 271 1,694 
			 Surrey 613 287 53 49 1,002 
			 Sussex(2) 184 320 429 274 1,207 
			 Thames Valley 25 13 4 22 64 
			 West Midlands 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Other Forces(3) 155 106 126 109 496 
			   
			 England and Wales 42,571 47,150 57,596 50,027 197,344 
			   
			 BTP(4) 15,256 15,983 15,378 11,905 58,522 
			   
			 Scotland(5) 30 56 52 22 160 
			   
			 Great Britain 57,857 63,189 73,026 61,954 256,026 
			 (1) Does not include 'Vehicle Only' stops. (2) Sussex police currently are unable to separate vehicle searches from passenger searches; as a consequence data here refers only to searches of pedestrians. (3) Where initial individual annual force totals were below 100 for 2007-08 they have been grouped into 'Other Forces'. (4) British Transport Police figures include both England and Wales, and Scotland. (5) Scottish s44 authorisation commenced July 2007 following the Glasgow airport attack. Figures provided refer only to searches and detail a limited number of actual uses. Further data are available for the small numbers of individuals stopped.

Theft: Livestock

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to tackle livestock theft.

Alan Campbell: The theft of livestock is a crime and is covered under the Theft Act 1968. The thrust of the Government's Crime Strategy makes local agencies accountable and responsive to the needs and priorities of the local community. Where livestock theft emerges as a pressing local issue there is a local framework in place for local police forces and community safety partnerships to allocate and devote appropriate resources to tackling this crime.
	The Government also supports schemes such as Farm Watch and Countryside Watch, which are now operating across England and Wales, allowing farmers and those living in rural communities to share practical advice on crime prevention in order to look after their vehicles, property, families and animals.
	A practical guide has also been produced by the National Policing Improvement Agency specifically for those facing the challenges of policing rural areas, titled Neighbourhood Policing in Rural Communities (2008). This offers advice on a range of issues specific to rural areas. The introduction of neighbourhood policing is transforming policing at a local level, so as to build a more responsive, locally accountable and citizen-focused police service to make communities safer and make them feel safer.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education

Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what role he expects Adult Safeguarded Learning funds to play in achieving the aims of the Learning Revolution White Paper.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 February 2010,  Official Report, column 633W.

Adult Education

Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans his Department has to assist local authorities in Portsmouth to achieve the aims of the Learning Revolution White Paper.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 February 2010,  Official Report, column 632W.

Credit

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to protect vulnerable families from unscrupulous money lenders.

Kevin Brennan: Since 2004 the Government have committed £16.5 million to tackling illegal money lending nationwide. Specialist teams operate across England and in Scotland and Wales. As well as identifying, arresting and prosecuting loan sharks, the teams are working with partners in the community to ensure victims get access to advice and support.
	Last year, we launched the national hotline and the Stop Loan Sharks campaign on Direct.gov to warn against the dangers of illegal lending and to provide a clear and simple way to report a loan shark.
	So far, the teams have:
	Identified more than 900 illegal lenders, leading to more than 700 investigations;
	Written off more than £30 million of illegal debt; (money that victims would have had to pay back)
	Helped more than 10,000 people, including the most hard to reach individuals;
	Seized and confiscated over £1 million cash;
	Secured more than 150 successful prosecutions, with more in the pipelines; and
	Secured more than 50 years in prison sentences, plus an indefinite sentence for public protection.

Credit

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what his most recent assessment is of the effect on the ability of families to move out of poverty of consumer credit charged at high annual percentage rates.

Kevin Brennan: Government recognise that significant numbers of consumers are struggling with their finances. We believe that it is crucial that when people are in difficulty with debt they seek help as soon as possible. That is why Government have invested significantly in making expert financial advice freely available. We have supported a number of measures such as the FSA's Money Made Clear website and BIS's face to face debt advice project to help consumers keep control of their finances and manage their debt.
	While we want to see fewer people taking on unsustainable amounts of debt, we recognise that even for people on low incomes access to credit can be vital, allowing them to respond to unexpected events or crisis. We are concerned that many consumers are unable to obtain credit from mainstream sources, leaving them with few options other than to seek credit from high cost lenders. Government are committed to providing a safety net for people in need who are struggling to find affordable credit. We have provided increased funds to community-based lenders such as credit unions to provide affordable loans and increased funding for the Social Fund which provides interest free loans to consumers at times of pressure or crisis.
	We are keen to expand on our evidence base in this area and welcome the review that the Office of Fair Trading is currently conducting into the high cost credit sector. Their report is due out shortly and we will not hesitate to act if the review finds that further action is necessary to protect consumers.

Credit

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to regulate doorstep lending; what his policy is for the future of such lending; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: Government acknowledge that there are concerns regarding the home credit market. The Competition Commission investigated the home credit market in 2006 and as a result required providers in the sector to adopt remedies to address the problems it identified, such as lenders being required to share data on customers payment records, being required to publish their prices on a website where customers can compare the prices of loans and lenders giving a fair rebate to customers who repay their loans early. We are also putting in place a number of further measures to give consumers a more informed choice and to encourage responsible lending, including bringing in new requirements this year for lenders to provide adequate explanations to borrowers and to assess their creditworthiness. Any further changes in this area will need careful consideration and we are seeking to expand on our evidence base before determining whether existing remedies are working or if further action is needed. The OFT is reviewing the high cost credit market and is due to publish its findings and recommendations shortly. Government have pledged to respond quickly to the review.

Departmental Advertising

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much was spent on advertising by  (a) his Department,  (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which his Department is responsible and  (c) other body sponsored by his Department and its predecessor in each year since 2005.

Patrick McFadden: For advertising spend in 2008/09 and 2009/10 by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the former Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the former Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr. Hayes), 1 February 2010,  Official Report, column 133-34W.
	Spend on advertising procured through the Central Office of Information by the former BERR, DTI and DIUS from 2004/05 to 2007/08 is as follows:
	
		
			  BERR 2007/08  Press  Radio  Poster  Media Total 
			 Nuclear Energy Consultation 2007/08 146,380 - - 146,380 
			 Employing People 2007/08 71,446 - - 71,446 
			 National Minimum Wage 2007/08 4,447 392,297 157,411 554,155 
			 Total 2007/08 - - - £ 771,981 
		
	
	
		
			  DTI 2006/07  Press  Radio  Poster  Media Total 
			 Consumer Direct-Thomson Directories 2006/07 581,424 - - 581,424 
			 DTI Classified Recruitment 2006/07 11,457 - - 11,457 
			 ACAS Miscellaneous Advertising Activity 2006/07 82,641 146,308 - 228,949 
			 Total 2006/07 - - - 821,830 
		
	
	
		
			  DTI 2005/06  Press  Radio  Poster  Internet  Media Total 
			 Consumer Direct 2005/06 366,936 823,011 87,903 170,000 1,447,850 
			 DTI Classified/Recruitment Advertising 2005/06 31,099 - - - 31,099 
			 SBS Business Link 2005/06 1,502,301 - - - 1,502,301 
			 New National Minimum Wage 2005/06 328,603 - - 41,000 369,603 
			 Directgov-DTI Employee Franchise 2005/06 117,690 - - 10,000 127,690 
			 Total 2005/06 - - - - 3,478,543 
		
	
	
		
			  DTI 2004/05  Press  Radio  Poster  Media Total 
			 Consumer Direct 2004/05 170,600 326,738 209,150 706,488 
			 SBS Business Link 2004/05 552,712 - - 552,712 
			 Import Licence Announcements 2004/05 74,300 - - 74,300 
			 DTI Classified Recruitment Advertising 2004/05 41,007 - - 41,007 
			 New Minimum Wage 2004/05 315,754 - - 315,754 
			 Renewable Energy 2004/05 15,542 - - 15,542 
			 Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion 2004/05 30,494 - - 30,494 
			 Firework Safety 2004/05-(media only) 17,061 152,527 18,892 188,480 
			 DTI-Dispute Resolution (media only) 81,768 - - 81,768 
			 SBS Press Media Buying Costs 2004/05 - - - 3,255 
			 Total 2004/05 - - - 2,009,800 
		
	
	
		
			  DIUS 2007/08  Press  Television  Radio  Media Total 
			 Higher Education Student Finance 2007/08 229,751 1,198,017 597,984 2,025,702 
			 Total 2007/08 - - - 2,025,702 
		
	
	Figures for advertising spend for each non-departmental public body could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	I have approached the chief executives of the Insolvency Service, Companies House, the National Measurement Office and the Intellectual Property Office and they will respond to the hon. Member directly.
	 Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 26 February 2010:
	The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has asked me to reply to your question how much was spent on advertising by (a) his Department, (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which his Department is responsible and (c) other body sponsored by his Department and its predecessor in each year since 2005.
	The Insolvency Service has not spent anything on advertising since 2005.
	 Letter from Gareth Jones:
	I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled 23 February 2010, UIN 319151 to the Minister of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Companies House spent the following amounts on advertising in each of the five years since 2005:
	
		
			   Advertising (£) 
			 2005-06 356,229.00 
			 2006-07 366,671.00 
			 2007-08 223,657.00 
			 2008-09 714,945.00 
		
	
	2008-2009 is the last year for which full figures are available.
	The vast majority of expenditure in 2008-09 was spent on informing businesses of their obligations under the Companies Act.
	 Letter from John Alty, dated 25 February 2010:
	I am responding in respect of the Intellectual Property Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled 23 February 2010, to the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The amounts spent by the Intellectual Property Office on advertising in each calendar year were:
	
		
			   £000 
			 2005 17 
			 2006 50 
			 2007 28 
			 2008 47 
			 2009 122 
		
	
	 Letter from Peter Mason, dated 24 February 2010:
	I am responding in respect of the National Measurement Office (NMO) to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 23 February asking the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much was spent on advertising in each year since 2005.
	The National Measurement Office spends very little on advertising and such expenditure is not separately identified in our accounting system. In practice, the principal use of advertising would be for recruitment purposes. Any paid advertising of the Agency or its services would be recorded as part of our marketing expenditure. The National Measurement Office has spent the following on these activities:
	Between April to December 2005: £Nil on external recruitment advertising and £44,362.97 on marketing activities
	In 2006: £10,487.00 on external recruitment advertising and £33,215.52 on marketing activities
	In 2007: £11,472.27 on external recruitment advertising and £14,806.55 on marketing activities
	In 2008: £11,622.95 on external recruitment advertising and £28,366.09 on marketing activities
	In 2009: £11,852.50 on external recruitment advertising and £12,990.42 on marketing activities.
	The spend figures are not available for the period between January and March 2005.

Employment: Young People

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps he has taken to assist young people to obtain  (a) work and  (b) training.

Kevin Brennan: We have been taking a joined-up approach across Government to ensure that all young adults have the skills they need to obtain a meaningful job with prospects.
	In July 2009 we launched Backing Young Britain, a national campaign bringing together businesses, the public sector and third sector organisations to provide a package of support for young people aged 18-24 through and leading out of the recession. The campaign asks organisations to commit to one of three overall aims:
	Offering an Apprenticeship
	Taking up DWP help to employ a young person
	Providing a young person with experience of work
	To date, the campaign has been endorsed by 465 organisations from across the private, public and third sectors. Through these opportunities young people can access thousands of work-focused training places, such as internships or Apprenticeships, as well as additional access to advice through mentoring links and Jobcentre Plus adviser time, and jobs through Routes into Work and the Future Jobs Fund.
	We are creating at least 120,000 new jobs for young people through the Future Jobs Fund - the first six rounds of bidding will create up to 104,000 jobs. We have brought forward the Young Person's Guarantee so that all 18-24 year-olds still unemployed after six months will be guaranteed access to a job, work-focussed training in FE, work experience or a place on a Community Task Force.
	We have created the Graduate Talent Pool which has offered over 12,000 vacancies for graduate internships since the launch at the end of July. By March 2010, 20,000 graduate internships overall will have been created in the private, public and third sectors to help young people develop the skills they need to build their employability. For those new graduates who can't find work the Graduate Guarantee ensures that those still unemployed at six months will have access to an internship, training or help to become self employed.
	Through the September Guarantee, we offer every 16 and 17 year-old a suitable place in learning. We are building on this with a January Guarantee in 2010, which will offer all 16 and 17 year-olds who are not in education, employment or training this month a place in Entry to Employment provision. We will invest a total of £8.2 billion in 2010-11 to fund learning for 1.6 million young people, and we will increase 16-19 funding by 0.9 per cent. in real terms in 2011-12 and 2012-13 to continue our commitment to the September Guarantee.
	We have rescued and expanded Apprenticeships over the last 10 years. We are committing £140 million to provide 35,000 extra Apprenticeship places in 2009-10 and are providing employer subsidies to create 5,000 new Apprenticeships for 16 and 17 year-olds.
	In 2010-11 we will switch significant resources from Train to Gain to create a further 35,000 Advanced Apprenticeship places for 19 to 30 year-olds. Boosting the number of Advanced Apprenticeships is critical to our plans for building the skills of young adults and promoting the overall economic health of the nation.
	We are also widening participation in higher education, to ensure that all those with the potential and merit to benefit from HE are able and willing to do so.
	In December 2009 DCSF, DWP and BIS published Investing in Potential, which sets out current support and our long-term strategy to increase the proportion of 16-24 year-olds in education, employment or training:
	http://publications.dcsf.gov.uk/default.aspx? PageFunction=productdetailsPageMode=publications ProductId=DCSF-01145-2009.

Manufacturing Industries: Motor Vehicles

Robert Syms: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what funds have been disbursed under the Automotive Assistance Scheme to date.

Ian Lucas: The Automotive Assistance Programme (AAP) Team has had contact with over 90 companies and continues to seek and receive new applications. Two formal offers of support have been made, which were not taken up due to the applicants' success in accessing financial support elsewhere. BIS officials remain in detailed negotiations with 11 other companies, with a pipeline of projects worth over £2 billion.

Minimum Wage: Marketing

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much expenditure his Department is planning as part of the National Minimum Wage outreach campaign in 2010; and what road shows are planned to take place in 2010 as part of the campaign.

Patrick McFadden: This year's national minimum wage outreach activity 2009/10, part of the wider Vulnerable Worker campaign, involved our mobile cafe touring the country, visiting 35 towns and cities. We are currently evaluating the whole campaign, so plans and priorities for 2010/11 have not yet been agreed.

Motor Vehicles: Government Assistance

Charles Hendry: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect on levels of greenhouse gas emissions of the vehicle scrappage scheme;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the likely change in the volume of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the vehicle scrappage scheme in  (a) 2010,  (b) 2011 and  (c) 2012.

Ian Lucas: No detailed assessment has been made by this Department. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, average CO2 emissions of a car bought through the scheme was 133.3 g/km, almost 10 per cent. below the overall new car market average and 26.8 per cent. below the average figure for a scrapped car.

Motor Vehicles: Sales

Robert Syms: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the number of new car sales in the second quarter of 2010.

Ian Lucas: This Department does not forecast sales of cars in the UK.

Overseas Students: English Language

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the number of overseas students in universities in academic year 2009-10 who had previously attended an English language school in the UK.

David Lammy: Information on the number of foreign students in universities in 2009/10 who had previously attended an English language school is not held centrally.
	In the 2008/09 academic year, there were 117,660 non-UK EU enrolments and 251,310 non-EU enrolments at UK higher education institutions.

Private Finance Initiative

Michael Weir: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many of his Department's private finance initiative projects have been delayed because of problems obtaining finance; and what the monetary value is of each contract.

Patrick McFadden: Central records indicate that no BIS private finance initiative projects have been delayed because of problems obtaining finance.

Students: Loans

Jim Cousins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the  (a) monetary value of and  (b) amount of interest incurred in respect of student loans in each year since 2004-05.

David Lammy: The following table provides the total monetary value of both Mortgage Style and Income Contingent Loans and the amount of interest applied. The number of student loan borrowers has increased each year since loans were introduced in 1990, and it is therefore expected that the loan balance will increase annually. The increase is also due to the introduction of loans for tuition fees in 2006/07.
	
		
			  Student loan balance and interest applied: England( 1) 
			  £ million 
			  Financial year  Loan balance( 2)  Interest applied( 3) 
			 2004-05 13,033.4 254.0 
			 2005-06 15,328.1 330.9 
			 2006-07 18,125.5 394.3 
			 2007-08 21,953.2 585.6 
			 2008-09 (provisional) 25,972.4 759.5 
			 (1)English domiciled students studying in the UK and El) students studying in England. (2)Loan balance at end of each financial year. (3)Interest applied during the financial year.  Source: Student Loans Company

Union Modernisation Fund

Greg Hands: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much has been paid to each trade union from the Union Modernisation Fund in each year since the fund was started.

Patrick McFadden: The information on how much has been paid to each trade union from the Union Modernisation Fund in each financial year since the fund started is as follows:
	
		
			  Grant paid to each trade union by financial year 
			  Union  Grant paid (£) 
			  Year ended 31 March 2007  
			 GMB 23,340.53 
			 Wales Trade Union Congress 12,252.64 
			 National Union of Teachers 7,377.84 
			 Royal College of Midwives 43,329.35 
			 Union of Finance Staff 7,083.30 
			 United Road Transport Union 24,330.00 
			 Community and District Nursing Association 8,125.65 
			 British Dental Association 6,047.75 
			 Connect 28,647.63 
			 USDAW 104,011.73 
			 National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers 32,489.00 
			 National Union of Journalists 11,475.34 
			 ASLEF 13,232.25 
			 General Federation of Trade Unions 23,284.48 
			 Portman Group Staff Association 6,070.70 
			   
			  Year ended 31 March 2008  
			 GMB 106,532.92 
			 Communication Workers Union 28,008.85 
			 Wales Trade Union Congress 29,708.34 
			 National Union of Teachers 20,285.64 
			 USDAW 5,783.00 
			 Royal College of Midwives 88,135.28 
			 Union of Finance Staff 41,776.70 
			 Unity 15,192.76 
			 United Road Transport Union 50,670.00 
			 Equity 22,737.50 
			 Transport and General Workers Union 47,535.05 
			 Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union 17,241.06 
			 Community and District Nursing Association 6,418.37 
			 Community 63,453.00 
			 British Dental Association 15,329.00 
			 Transport Salaried Staffs' Association 46,618.70 
			 Connect 28,988.12 
			 USDAW 82,811.00 
			 Prospect 78,621.69 
			 National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers 161,245.00 
			 National Union of Journalists 43,145.52 
			 Trades Union Congress 62,695.00 
			 Community and Youth Workers Union 16,915.96 
			 Unite (Amicus) 128,105.62 
			 ASLEF 58,245.47 
			 General Federation of Trade Unions 74,623.90 
			 Portman Group Staff Association 9,533.80 
			 Musicians' Union 17,788.00 
			 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy 2,845.00 
			 Union of Construction Allied Trades and Technicians 5,983.00 
			 Equity 7,691.30 
			   
			  Year ended 31 March 2009  
			 General Federation of Trade Unions 15,122.48 
			 Trades Union Congress 39,863.19 
			 General Federation of Trade Unions 40,333.07 
			 Musicians' Union 14,426.00 
			 Association of Teachers and Lecturers 326.02 
			 Unison 54,942.22 
			 Association of Professionals in Education and Children's Trusts 5,100.00 
			 Union of Construction Allied Trades and Technicians 7,957.50 
			 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy 14,371.00 
			 Accord 106,164.00 
			 Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union 40,957.97 
			 First Division Association 27,437.00 
			 Trades Union Congress 23,049.00 
			 Union of Construction Allied Trades and Technicians 7,957.50 
			 General Federation of Trade Unions 37,344.17 
			 Nautilus UK 27,007.06 
			 Equity 35,654.58 
			 Unite (Amicus) 29,309.18 
			 Retained Fire-fighters Union 51,930.68 
			 Nationwide Group Staff Union 5,875.00 
			 GMB 63,667.08 
			 Communication Workers Union 116,159.35 
			 Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union 33,405.42 
			 Wales Trade Union Congress 83,681.18 
			 Lloyds TSB Group Union 22,322.60 
			 National Union of Teachers 35,267.02 
			 British Dental Association 780.25 
			 Prospect 26,197.78 
			 Association of Professionals in Education and Children's Trusts 5,100.00 
			 Prospect 20,591.49 
			 Unison 87,515.50 
			 Association of Professionals in Education and Children's Trusts 4,085.00 
			 Association of Teachers and Lecturers 17,606.14 
			 Community 23,151.00 
			 Communication Workers Union 14,088.92 
			 Communication Workers Union 20,359.04 
			 National Union of Teachers 41,733.63 
			 PCS 31,268.82 
			 Union of Construction Allied Trades and Technicians 9,720.00 
			 USDAW 71,532.90 
			   
			  Current financial year to date  
			 Association of Teachers and Lecturers 28,858.76 
			 Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union 35,964.40 
			 Communication Workers Union 21,931.14 
			 First Division Association 81,509.00 
			 General Federation of Trade Unions 23,707.63 
			 National Union of Teachers 24,254.82 
			 Union of Construction Allied Trades and Technicians 11,496.28 
			 USDAW 26,938.50 
			 Nautilus UK 6,834.31 
			 Accord 30,587.50 
			 Equity 14,103.55 
			 General Federation of Trade Unions 53,978.98 
			 GMB 63,937.54 
			 Musicians Union 15,284.00 
			 Unite (TG) 88,302.00 
			 Trade Union Congress 67,109.83 
			 Unison 16,835.78 
			 Unison 106,997.01 
			 Unite (Amicus) 89,217.79 
			 Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union 128,096.20 
			 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy 11,230.00 
			 National Union of Schoolmasters, Union of Women Teachers 28,385.00 
			 Trades Union Congress 52,683.23 
			 Unison 79,543.50 
			  Note: Where some unions have more than one project, these have been itemised individually above.

TREASURY

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) disciplinary and  (b) capability procedures have been (i) initiated and (ii) completed in his Department in each of the last five years; how much time on average was taken to complete each type of procedure in each such year; how many and what proportion of his Department's staff were subject to each type of procedure in each such year; and how many and what proportion of each type of procedure resulted in the dismissal of the member of staff.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: It is the Treasury's policy not to release full details relating to numbers of staff fewer than five where to do so might lead to the identification of individual cases.
	On that basis the number of disciplinary and capability cases in the Treasury in each of the last five years were as follows:
	
		
			   Disciplinary  Capability 
			 2005 Fewer than 5 Fewer than 5 
			 2006 0 Fewer than 5 
			 2007 Fewer than 5 Fewer than 5 
			 2008 Fewer than 5 0 
			 2009 0 0 
		
	
	With regard to capacity issues, the Department only records those that have led to dismissals.
	Information on average time taken to complete each type of procedure is not recorded centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental ICT

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information technology projects initiated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies were cancelled prior to completion in the last 12 months; and what the cost of each such project was to the public purse.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: No information technology projects have been cancelled in the last 12 months in the Chancellor's Department or agencies.

Departmental Illegal Immigrants

Robert Syms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies,  (c) HM Revenue and Customs and  (d) the Valuation Office Agency have appointed who were later discovered to be illegal immigrants since 2005.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: None.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) Ministers and  (b) civil servants in his Department received coaching in a foreign language in the last 12 months; what expenditure his Department incurred in providing such coaching; and in what languages such coaching was provided.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: No Ministers and 13 civil servants received coaching in a foreign language in the period March 2009 to February 2010.
	The languages covered were French and Arabic, with an expenditure of £20,380.

Excise Duties: Alcoholic Drinks

David Hamilton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made on the most recent EU review of minimum rates of excise duty to be applied to alcohol and alcoholic beverages.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The European Commission proposed revisions to the EU directive setting minimum rates of excise duty on alcoholic beverages in September 2006. Following two discussions at ministerial level at ECOFIN in November 2006, when it was not possible to reach agreement, successive EU presidencies have chosen not to schedule further Council discussions of the dossier. We understand that the Spanish presidency currently has no plans to do so either.

Government Departments: Carbon Emissions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2010,  Official Report, column 876W, on the Sustainable Development Commission: Treasury, for what reason the baseline carbon emissions of  (a) the Home Office and  (b) the Ministry of Justice have been changed.

Ian Pearson: Baseline changes are tightly managed at the centre of government and are permitted for two reasons:
	1. A baseline adjustment-relating to changes to the estate. A baseline adjustment is permitted in instances when an organisation takes on or relinquishes specific functions or responsibilities (for example takes responsibility for an additional Executive agency).
	2. A baseline correction-relating to changes to the data. A baseline correction can be made where baseline data previously supplied is incorrect or incomplete. In Instances where additional or more accurate data for the baseline year comes to light the original baseline data can be revised.
	The Home Office (HO) Carbon from Offices baseline was amended in 2008-09 to account for machinery of government changes. These involved the transfer of the Southport building from the Office for National Statistics, and the export of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) non-custodial buildings to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). The NOMS transfer was deferred from 2007-08 to enable the proper separation of baseline data. In reviewing the baseline to facilitate the separation, Home Office identified better quality data for its own core department. This improvement also formed part of the amendment in 2008-09.
	The Ministry of Justice Carbon from Offices baseline was amended in 2008-09 to account for the transfer of the NOMS non-custodial buildings from Home Office, and in response to reviews of energy consumption data held by HM Courts Service and the National Archives, which resulted in the availability of better quality baseline data for both organisations. Subsequently, the MOJ baseline was corrected to exclude the NOMS non-custodial element, as during the 2008-09 reporting phase it became clear that NOMS could not report a full consumption data across the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate target areas. MOJ aims to ensure NOMS reports fully in 2009-10.

Valuation Office Agency: Local Government

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 11 January 2010,  Official Report, column 782W, on Valuation Office: local government, which local authorities in England provide building control notices to the Valuation Office Agency  (a) in hard copy,  (b) by e-mail and  (c) through the Valuebill/e-BARs interface.

Ian Pearson: The following local authorities currently send or have recently sent some building control notices to the Valuation Office Agency.
	Allerdale
	Ashfield
	Ashford
	Aylesbury Vale
	Barking and Dagenham
	Barnet
	Barnsley
	Barrow
	Basildon
	Basingstoke and Deane
	Bexley
	Blackburn
	Bolsover
	Bolton
	Bournemouth
	Bracknell Forest
	Breckland
	Brent
	Brentwood
	Brighton and Hove
	Bristol City
	Bromley
	Bromsgrove
	Broxtowe
	Burnley
	Camden
	Cannock Chase
	Canterbury
	Carlisle
	Chelmsford
	Cheltenham
	Cherwell
	Chesterfield
	Chiltern
	Chorley
	Christchurch
	City of London
	Copeland
	Cotswold
	Croydon
	Darlington
	Derby
	Derbyshire Dales
	Doncaster
	Dover
	Dudley
	Durham
	Ealing
	East Dorset
	East Hants
	East Riding
	East Staffs
	Eastleigh
	Eden
	Elmbridge
	Enfield
	Epping Forest
	Exeter
	Fareham
	Forest Heath
	Fylde
	Gateshead
	Gloucester
	Gosport
	Gravesham
	Great Yarmouth
	Harlow
	Harrow
	Hart
	Hartlepool
	Havant
	Havering
	Hereford
	Hinckley and Bosworth
	Hounslow
	Hull
	Ipswich
	Isle of Wight
	Kings Lynn and West Norfolk
	Kingston
	Lambeth
	Lancaster
	Lewisham
	Lichfield
	Malvern Hills
	Manchester
	Medway
	Mendip
	Merton
	Mid Devon
	Mole Valley
	New Forest
	Newcastle under Lyme
	Newcastle upon Tyne
	Newham
	North Devon
	North Dorset
	North East Lines
	North Lincs
	North Norfolk
	North Somerset
	North Tyneside
	Nottingham
	Oldham
	Oxford
	Pendle
	Plymouth
	Poole
	Portsmouth
	Preston
	Purbeck
	Reading
	Redbridge
	Redcar and Cleveland
	Redditch
	Reigate and Banstead
	Ribble Valley
	Richmond upon Thames
	Rossendale
	Rotherham
	Runnymede
	Rushcliffe
	Rushmoor
	Rutland
	Sedgemoor
	Sevenoaks
	Sheffield
	Shepway
	Shropshire
	Slough
	Solihull
	South Gloucestershire
	South Ribble
	South Somerset
	South Staffs
	South Tyneside
	Southampton
	Southwark
	Spelthorne
	St. Edmundsbury
	Stafford
	Staffordshire Moorlands
	Stockton
	Stoke-on-Trent
	Suffolk Coastal
	Sunderland
	Surrey Heath
	Swale
	Tameside
	Tamworth
	Tandridge
	Taunton Deane
	Teignbridge
	Telford
	Test Valley
	Tewkesbury
	Thanet
	Torbay
	Torridge
	Trafford
	Tunbridge Wells
	Walsall
	Waltham Forest
	Wandsworth
	Waveney
	Waverley
	Wealden
	West Berkshire
	West Dorset
	West Lancashire
	West Somerset
	Weymouth and Portland
	Wiltshire
	Winchester
	Woking
	Wokingham
	Wolverhampton
	Worcester
	Wychavon
	Wyre Forest
	All of the details arrive by either  (a) hard copy or  (b) e-mail. It is difficult to provide definitive details as some local authorities do and have used both methods.
	No building control notices are received by  (c) Valuebill/e-BARs.

Valuation Office Agency: Local Government

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 11 January 2010,  Official Report, column 782W, on the Valuation Office: local government, which local authorities in England do not provide building control notices to the Valuation Office Agency.

Ian Pearson: The following local authorities in England do not currently send or have not recently sent building control notices to the Valuation Office Agency.
	Adur
	Amber Valley
	Arun
	Babergh
	Bassetlaw
	Bath and North East Somerset
	Bedford
	Birmingham
	Blaby
	Blackpool
	Boston
	Bradford
	Braintree
	Broadland
	Broxbourne
	Bury
	Calderdale
	Cambridge City
	Castle Point
	Central Beds
	Charnwood
	Cheshire East
	Cheshire West
	Chichester
	Colchester
	Corby
	Cornwall
	Coventry
	Craven
	Crawley
	Dacorum
	Dartford
	Daventry
	East Cambs
	East Devon
	East Hertfordshire
	East Lindsey
	East Northamptonshire
	Eastbourne
	Epsom and Ewell
	Erewash
	Fenland District
	Forest of Dean
	Gedling
	Greenwich
	Guildford
	Hackney
	Halton
	Hambleton
	Hammersmith and Fulham
	Harborough
	Haringey
	Harrogate
	Hastings
	Hertsmere
	High Peak
	Hillingdon
	Horsham
	Huntingdon District
	Hyndburn
	Isles of Scilly
	Islington
	Kensington and Chelsea
	Kettering
	Kirklees
	Knowsley
	Leeds
	Leicester
	Lewes
	Lincoln
	Liverpool
	Luton
	Maidstone
	Maldon
	Mansfield
	Melton
	Mid Suffolk
	Middlesbrough
	Mid Sussex
	Milton Keynes
	Newark and Sherwood
	North East Derbyshire
	North Hertfordshire
	North Kesteven
	North Warwickshire
	North West Leicestershire
	Northampton
	Northumberland
	Norwich
	Nuneaton. and Bedworth
	Oadby and Wigston
	Peterborough
	Richmondshire
	Rochdale
	Rochford
	Rother
	Rugby
	Ryedale
	Salford
	Sandwell
	Scarborough
	Sefton
	Selby
	South Buckinghamshire
	South Cambs
	South Derbyshire
	South Hams
	South Holland
	South Kesteven
	South Lakeland
	South Norfolk
	South Northamptonshire
	South Oxon
	Southend on Sea
	St. Albans
	St. Helens
	Stevenage
	Stockport
	Stratford on Avon
	Stroud
	Sutton
	Swindon
	Tendring
	Three Rivers
	Thurrock
	Tonbridge and Malling
	Tower Hamlets
	Uttlesford
	Vale of White Horse
	Wakefield
	Warrington
	Warwick
	Watford
	Wellingborough
	Welwyn Hatfield
	West Devon
	West Lindsey
	West Oxon
	Westminster
	Wigan
	Windsor and Maidenhead
	Wirral
	Worthing
	Wycombe
	Wyre
	York

VAT

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment has been made of the effect on the economy of the recent change to the rate of value added tax; what recent representations he has received on this issue; from whom; what response he gave in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The annual rate of CPI inflation rose in January, partly due to the pre-announced reversal of the cut in the VAT rate back to 17.5 per cent. The 2009 pre-Budget report forecast assumes that businesses will smooth the pass-through of the reversal of the VAT rate cut, with inflation peaking in early 2010. It is assumed that households will have brought forward some consumption from 2010 to 2009 as a result of the lower relative prices associated with the reversion of the temporary cut in the standard rate of VAT. Consumer spending is forecast to grow over 2010 as a whole. The Government will set out their latest assessment of economic prospects at Budget.
	The Government receive a wide range of representations on tax and other issues: which they seek to take account of in formulating economic policy.
	As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of such representations.